Most Americans blame Trump, Republicans for partial gov't shutdown: poll

WASHINGTON -- More than half of Americans hold President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers mainly responsible for the ongoing longest partial federal shutdown in the US history, according to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll released on Sunday.

However, 42 percent now support building a US-Mexico border wall, the highest percentage in the poll since Trump first proposed it when announcing his campaign for the presidency in June 2015, the poll found.

Fifty-three percent in the national survey said that Trump and congressional Republicans are mainly responsible for the shutdown, while 29 percent blamed congressional Democrats, nearly a 2-1 margin against the president and his party. Thirteen percent said both equally are at fault.

Meanwhile, a quarterback Trump's claim that there's a crisis at the southern border and two-thirds oppose declaring a national emergency to fund a border wall, according to the poll.

Only 18 percent in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates, said they've personally been affected by the partial shutdown. But 79 percent said it would be a serious problem or a crisis if it were to continue for months.

The poll was conducted by landline and cellular telephone between Jan. 8 and 11 among a random national sample of 788 adults with a margin of sampling error of 4.5 points.