Do you support Trump’s 2-year Facebook ban? Here’s what Americans said in a new poll
A slim majority of voters in a new poll support former President Donald Trump’s two-year suspension from Facebook.
The Politico/Morning Consult poll of 1,990 registered voters, conducted June 4-7 and released Monday, found 51% of respondents said they support Facebook’s decision to keep Trump from posting on the platform until at least January 2023. Another 40% said they don’t support the decision.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points.
Facebook announced Trump’s two-year ban Friday. It comes after the company’s independent oversight board in May upheld Facebook’s decision to suspend Trump following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol — but ruled that its “indeterminate and standardless penalty of indefinite suspension” wasn’t appropriate.
The oversight board urged Facebook to review the penalty “to determine and justify a proportionate response.” Now, Facebook has created new “enforcement protocols” that say in times of “civil unrest and ongoing violence,” public figures may be suspended for severe violations for one month, six months, one year or two years, after which Facebook will “look to experts to assess whether the risk to public safety has receded.”
Who supports Trump’s 2-year Facebook suspension?
The poll found 41% of voters “strongly support” Facebook’s decision to keep Trump suspended for two years. Another 10% say they “somewhat support” the decision. Meanwhile, 32% “strongly oppose” and 8% “somewhat oppose” the decision, the poll found. Another 9% said they don’t know or don’t have an opinion.
Among Democratic voters, 72% “strongly support” the two-year suspension and 14% “somewhat support” it. Only 4% said they “strongly oppose” and “somewhat oppose” the decision and 6% said they don’t know.
Ten percent of Republican voters “strongly support” Facebook’s decision and 5% “somewhat support” it, the poll found. But 67% and 10% said they “strongly oppose” and “somewhat oppose” it, respectively, while 8% said they don’t know or don’t have an opinion.
Among Independents, 36% “strongly support” and 10% “somewhat support” the decision while 30% “strongly oppose” and 10% “somewhat oppose” it, the poll found. Another 15% said they don’t know.
The poll also found that 71% of voters had read or heard “a lot” or “some” about Facebook’s decision — including four out of five Democrats and two-thirds of Republicans and Independents.
Facebook’s decision
Facebook said Friday that, in deciding to keep Trump off the platform for at least another two years, it took into consideration the need for the suspension to be long enough to “allow a safe period of time after the acts of incitement” to serve as a “deterrent” for Trump and others against committing violations. It also said the suspension should be proportionate to the violation.
The company’s Vice President for Global Affairs Nick Clegg said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that Facebook believes imposing the most severe penalty is justified in Trump’s case and that its decision is responsive to the oversight board’s call for “clearer due process, clearer standards” and “clearer penalties.”
Facebook initially locked Trump’s account for 24 hours following the Jan. 6 riot, during which a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as Congress was certifying then-President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the Electoral College. At a rally earlier that day, Trump encouraged supporters to march on Capitol Hill and, prior to that, repeatedly made false claims that the election was stolen from him.
The next day, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the suspension of Trump’s account would continue indefinitely. Facebook later asked its oversight board to review the decision.
Several other social media companies also suspended Trump following the attack — including Twitter, which permanently banned him due to concerns he would incite additional violence.
Trump’s bans from social media have since been heavily debated, with opponents calling them an attack on free speech and supporters saying Trump’s rhetoric should have gotten him banned sooner.
