--- description: A majority of Americans disapproved of President Trump's response to the deadly clashes in Charlottesville, Va., according to a new poll title: 56% of Americans Disapprove of Trump's Response to Charlottesville image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt20375691d4f59562/6988da8b0a4a22e1c49cf918/donald-trump-charlottesville-poll.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [White House](/tag/white-house/) ## White House Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 56% of Americans Disapprove of President Trump's Response to Charlottesville  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 22, 2017 12:11 AM CUT  President Donald Trump speaks following a meeting on infrastructure at Trump Tower on Aug. 15, 2017 in New York City. President Donald Trump speaks following a meeting on infrastructure at Trump Tower on Aug. 15, 2017 in New York City.Drew Angerer/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 22, 2017 12:11 AM CUT A majority of Americans disapproved of [President Donald Trump’s response](http://time.com/4904281/bigots-boosted-by-the-bully-pulpit-charlottesville/ "undefined") to the deadly clashes at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., according to findings from a [new poll](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/poll-shows-strong-disapproval-of-how-trump-responded-to-charlottesville-violence/2017/08/21/4e5c585c-868b-11e7-a94f-3139abce39f5%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.7ea81b03ad9e#comments "undefined"). The [Washington _Post_\-ABC News](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/poll-shows-strong-disapproval-of-how-trump-responded-to-charlottesville-violence/2017/08/21/4e5c585c-868b-11e7-a94f-3139abce39f5%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.7ea81b03ad9e#comments "undefined") poll found that 56% of adults disapproved of Trump’s response, while just 28% approved. There was a stark difference along party lines, as 84% of Democrats said they disapproved and just 19% of Republicans said the same. Among independents, 55% disapproved compared to just 28% approving. The survey was conducted after the press conference in which Trump defended people associated with white supremacist groups and said [“both sides” were to blame](http://time.com/4902129/president-donald-trump-both-sides-charlottesville/ "undefined") for the violence in Charlottesville that left [one counter-protester dead.](http://time.com/4907299/mark-heather-heyer-charlottesville/ "undefined") The remarks earned him [praise from white supremacists](http://time.com/4902308/white-nationalists-supremacists-donald-trump-charlottesville/ "undefined"). A full 42% of respondents said Trump was putting white supremacists on equal standing with their opponents, while 35% said Trump was not. An overwhelmingly majority of Americans said it was unacceptable to hold neo-Nazi or white supremacist views, and just 9% said those views were acceptable. The poll — which surveyed 1,014 adults by phone — was conducted Aug. 16 to Aug. 20 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4910203/donald-trump-charlottesville-protest-poll/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4910203/donald-trump-charlottesville-protest-poll/"},"headline":"56% of Americans Disapprove of President Trump's Response to Charlottesville","datePublished":"2017-08-22T00:11:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:06:24.635Z","description":"Just 28% approved of his response, according to the poll","url":"https://time.com/4910203/donald-trump-charlottesville-protest-poll/","keywords":["White House","Virginia","Donald Trump","Charlottesville","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt20375691d4f59562/6988da8b0a4a22e1c49cf918/donald-trump-charlottesville-poll.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt20375691d4f59562/6988da8b0a4a22e1c49cf918/donald-trump-charlottesville-poll.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Trump Speaks On Infrastructure Meeting Held At Trump Tower","caption":"President Trump Speaks On Infrastructure Meeting Held At Trump Tower","creditText":"Drew Angerer/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4910203/donald-trump-charlottesville-protest-poll/","name":"56% of Americans Disapprove of President Trump's Response to Charlottesville"}}]}] ```