On Wednesday's Deadline: White House show, MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace twice spread misinformation to her viewers as she greatly understated public support for deportations by misquoting a recent Pew poll.
While speaking with correspondent Jacob Soboroff about recent ICE raids on farms in Ventura County, California, Wallace brought up the poll from March and asserted:
This is where there is scant public support. Pew Research -- which last asked a question of the public in March -- only 15 percent of Americans support deporting undocumented immigrants who have a job; 14 percent of Americans support deporting the parents of children who were born here; nine percent support deporting people who came to this country as immigrants (she meant "children"); and only five percent of all Americans support deporting someone married to a U.S. citizen.
As if ICE agents couldn't have been raiding such workplaces in search of immigrants with criminal records, she added: "I imagine that the people who work there behind you -- they are definitely all in the first category. They have a job, so 85 percent of all Americans oppose deporting people like the workers if they happen to be illegal who work in the fields behind you."
About 20 minutes later, she brought up the poll again as she spoke with Mara Gay, editorial board member of The New York Times. Wallace claimed:
But this is the actual size of the number of Americans who support deporting people with a job -- just 15 percent of our fellow Americans. That means about 35 percent of Trump voters don't support that. Fourteen percent of Americans support deporting people who are parents of children that were born here. Nine percent support deporting people who came here as children, and only five percent of all Americans -- which means 45 percent of Trump's own base opposes deporting people married to a U.S. citizen.
To see how much Wallace mangled the poll, let's look at the overall numbers: The tiny number overall sounds like the MSNBC position that none should be deported:
About half of U.S. adults (51%) say some immigrants living in the country illegally should be deported, compared with 32% who say all should be deported. Some 16% say none should be deported.
Nearly all Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (96%) say at least some immigrants living in the country illegally should be deported, compared with 71% of Democrats and Democratic leaners.
...A greater share of Republicans than Democrats who favor some deportations say immigrants living in the country illegally should be deported if they have committed nonviolent crimes (67% vs. 42%) or have arrived in the last four years (63% vs. 32%). When it comes to those who have committed violent crimes, nearly all Republicans and Democrats (97% each) say this group should be deported.
Pew asking for exceptions like "they have a job" or "parents who have children here" is looking for sympathetic exceptions, but Trump has focused first on removing immigrants with criminal records. Wallace suggested deportations are very unpopular, but that's not what the overall Pew poll demonstrates. .
Gay talked up the notion that Americans are becoming afraid that they will be impacted by the ICE raids and the use of the military:
MARA GAY, THE NEW YORK TIMES: And I think now that we're seeing that playing out, there are Americans in those communities, citizens -- people across the country who are starting to have second thoughts. I mean, now that we're seeing, you know, children --
WALLACE: Including a bunch of people that voted for him.
GAY: -- being ripped from their -- including people, I mean, right, so the reality is actually quite devastating. And so I do -- I do think we're starting to see public sentiment shift because this isn't just about immigration -- it's also obvious of course that Donald Trump is using immigration as an excuse to strengthen his own powers and test the Constitution. And we see that with his deployment of the military, so you've got to have Americans out there who are thinking, "Well, today it's immigrants -- well, tomorrow it could be me or my kid who's out in the street protesting because they're at college." Or they just feel like it's their constitutional right to do so as it is, and they're devastated by what's happening to their country. Are they going to be harmed by a member of their own military? I mean, what is happening here?
PS: Speaking of extremely selective polling choices, Wallace also put on screen the latest Quinnipiac poll of Trump's job approval rating -- a shocking 38 percent approval to 54 percent disapproval. But the RealClearPolitics collection of approval-rating polls shows that is an outlier. The RCP average of recent polls is minus-3, not minus-16. Oh, and this is the same show where Wallace suggested the Trump administration posting a message to urge Americans to help them stop "foreign invaders" (illegal immigrants) sounded like Vladimir Putin.
Transcripts follow:
MSNBC's Deadline: White House
June 11, 2025
4:08 p.m. Eastern
NICOLLE WALLACE: This is where there is scant public support. Pew Research -- which last asked a question of the public in March -- only 15 percent of Americans support deporting undocumented immigrants who have a job; 14 percent of Americans support deporting the parents of children who were born here; nine percent support deporting people who came to this country as immigrants (she meant "children"); and only five percent of all Americans support deporting someone married to a U.S. citizen.
I imagine that the people who work there behind you -- they are definitely all in the first category. They have a job, so 85 percent of all Americans oppose deporting people like the workers if they happen to be illegal who work in the fields behind you. Are you seeing evidence of that public opposition to deporting these folks?
JACOB SOBOROFF (from a farm in Ventura County, CA): Oh, of course. There were rallies on the streets here in Ventura County yesterday immediately after this happened.
(...)
4:28 p.m.
WALLACE: But this is the actual size of the number of Americans who support deporting people with a job -- just 15 percent of our fellow Americans. That means about 35 percent of Trump voters don't support that. Fourteen percent of Americans support deporting people who are parents of children that were born here. Nine percent support deporting people who came here as children, and only five percent of all Americans -- which means 45 percent of Trump's own base opposes deporting people married to a U.S. citizen.
MARA GAY, THE NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER: I mean, I think the entire immigration issue has kind of gotten away from both parties and just America in general. I am starting to wonder how much of an issue in last year's election immigration was simply a proxy for anger over the economy. Americans clearly are suffering not just with inflation but with housing crisis -- you have adult children who aren't doing as well as their parents. There's a lot of anger about the consolidation of capital -- about billionaires -- so you think about that kind of populism and how Donald Trump was able to channel it into an anti-immigrant rhetoric.
And so I think through that lens we did see people voting on immigration in a way, but I think the reality now of, first of all, this is terrible for the economy. So -- even putting aside the humanitarian aspect of this, you know, now, he said, "Yes, I'm going to go after people who are criminals," but he's going after wide communities here. And I think now that we're seeing that playing out, there are Americans in those communities, citizens -- people across the country who are starting to have second thoughts. I mean, now that we're seeing, you know, children --
WALLACE: Including a bunch of people that voted for him.
GAY: -- being ripped from their -- including people, I mean, right, so the reality is actually quite devastating. And so I do -- I do think we're starting to see public sentiment shift because this isn't just about immigration -- it's also obvious of course that Donald Trump is using immigration as an excuse to strengthen his own powers and test the Constitution. And we see that with his deployment of the military, so you've got to have Americans out there who are thinking, "Well, today it's immigrants -- well, tomorrow it could be me or my kid who's out in the street protesting because they're at college." Or they just feel like it's their constitutional right to do so as it is, and they're devastated by what's happening to their country. Are they going to be harmed by a member of their own military? I mean, what is happening here?