Most Biden and Trump voters disagree sharply about abortion, race, gender, crime and religious issues, according to the latest Pew Research Center’s “culture war” poll.
But one thing both groups agree on is guaranteed access to birth control.
Among registered voters, 93% of President Biden’s supporters and 66% of former President Trump’s voters said “the wide availability” of birth control pills, condoms and other contraceptive methods is “good for society.”
The nonprofit research center reported that 38% of Trump voters said abortion should be legal “in all or most cases,” compared with 88% of Biden supporters. And while a growing majority of voters believe the sex assigned at birth determines someone’s gender, including 90% of Trump supporters, only 39% of Biden supporters agreed.
“Across more than 30 measures, some of the widest differences are on issues that have divided Americans for decades: the role of guns in society, as well as race and the legacy of slavery,” Pew noted.
This disconnect extended to family life, where 59% of Trump backers and just 19% of Biden voters said focusing on marriage and family makes society better.
Other key findings included:
• The survey found 63% of Trump voters support a national deportation of all illegal immigrants, compared with 11% of Biden supporters.
• Only 27% of registered voters supporting Trump agreed that “the legacy of slavery affects the position of Black people in America today” either a great deal or a fair amount. Among Biden supporters, 79% said slavery’s legacy “still affects the position of Black people.”
• More than six in 10 voters said the criminal justice system is generally “not tough enough on criminals,” including 81% of Trump supporters and 40% of Biden voters.
• A large majority of respondents, 71%, said religion should be separate from government policies. That included 86% of Biden supporters and 56% of Trump voters.
On gun control, the survey found Trump and Biden supporters lining up on opposite sides of three questions.
While 80% of Biden voters said it is more important to control gun ownership, 85% of Trump supporters said it’s a bigger priority to “protect the right of Americans to own guns.”
And 75% of Biden supporters said gun ownership does more to “reduce safety by giving too many people access to firearms and increasing misuse.” By comparison, 86% of Trump voters said it does more to “increase safety by allowing law-abiding citizens to protect themselves.”
Finally, 83% of Biden backers said more guns in the U.S. would be “bad,” compared to just 21% of Trump voters who agreed.
“By overwhelming margins, Joe Biden’s supporters prioritize gun control over gun rights and say gun ownership does more to reduce than increase safety,” Pew said.
Pew conducted the nationally representative survey of 7,166 registered voters — including 3,182 Trump supporters and 3,818 Biden supporters — on its American Trends Panel from April 8 to 14. The margin of error was plus or minus 1.6% at the 95% confidence level.
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.