Biden overtakes Trump in support among active-duty troops, new poll finds
Joe Biden is leading President Donald Trump in support among active-duty troops, according to a new poll.
In a Military Times poll released Monday, 41.3% of surveyed active-duty troops said they would vote for Biden, compared to 37.4% who said they would vote for Trump.
Nearly half of respondents said they had an unfavorable view of Trump, and 42% said they “strongly” disapprove of the president.
The survey was conducted between July 27 and Aug. 10 and is based on a sample size of 1,081 troops. The margin of error is up to 2%.
Fewer than one-quarter of those polled — 22% — said they supported Trump’s assertion that troops should be called in during racial equality protests and civil unrest.
About 1,600 active-duty troops were mobilized in June to Washington, D.C., as crowds gathered to protest the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died in Minneapolis police custody.
Trump pointed to the Insurrection Act, saying “if a city or state refuses to take the actions necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them,” Business Insider reported.
The National Guard is sometimes dispatched to help support local law enforcement during protests and other situations, but that’s different than using active-duty troops.
The Insurrection Act allows the president “to employ the armed forces during a natural disaster or terrorist attack or to suppress an insurrection in a State.” It was last used during the 1992 Los Angeles riots after four white police officers were acquitted for beating Rodney King, an unarmed Black man.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, broke with Trump in wanting to use active-duty troops during protests, according to The New York Times.
Some former military leaders also disagreed with Trump’s suggestion.
“Once you start talking about federalizing the response, once you talk about using active-duty military forces in this law-enforcement capacity, that’s when it gets both confusing to the public and potentially dangerous,” former Defense Department spokesperson David Lapan told Business Insider.
The latest Military Times poll was in stark contrast to a similar survey conducted in 2016 comparing military opinions of former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Trump.
About 40% of the 2,486 active-duty troops surveyed said they would vote for Trump compared to 20% who said they would vote for Clinton.
The Lincoln Project, a Republican anti-Trump group, announced on Tuesday a leadership coalition of veterans, Blue Star and Gold Star families, and advocates, The Hill reported.
“Our veterans, service members, and their families know what a leader should be and have seen first hand how Donald Trump has failed his sacred duty as Commander-in-Chief,” the group’s senior adviser for veterans affairs Fred Wellman said.
This story was originally published September 1, 2020 at 11:29 AM with the headline "Biden overtakes Trump in support among active-duty troops, new poll finds."