Does the United States set a good moral example for the rest of the world these days? A significant majority of 58% of the American public says no, while only 40% says yes. That's quite a change from the recent past, when Americans prided themselves on being the example for freedom and human rights.
Why the change? A big part of it comes from the cruel and immoral immigration policies of the Trump administration and the Republican Congress. They want to build a wall on our southern border, deny entry to refugees seeking to escape danger in their home country (including those fleeing from gang violence and dangerously abusive spouses), and have separated parents and children at the border (and those separated families had not been re-united).
These policies have made the United States look like an immoral (and very weak and fearful) country -- and the American people don't like it. About 75% of the public says the U.S. should provide refuge for people escaping from danger in their home country, 71% oppose the separation of parents and children at the border, and 63% oppose building a wall between the U.S. and Mexico. The Trump/GOP policies are very unpopular with most Americans.
These charts use information from a new Public Religion Research Institute Poll -- done between June 20th and 24th of a national sample of 1,018 adults, with a 3.6 point margin of error.
