Just over half in new poll support Facebook’s suspension of Trump

A slim majority of Americans surveyed in a new poll said they support a recent decision by Facebook to extend a suspension of former President Trump’s account for another two years. 

A total of 51 percent of Americans strongly or somewhat support Facebook’s move, according to the Politico-Morning Consult poll published on Monday. 

Roughly 7 in 10, 71 percent, indicated they had heard “a lot” or “some” about the suspension. Only 15 percent of Republicans said they were in favor of the suspension, while 86 percent of Democrats said they support the social media company’s decision. 

Independents were more divided on the topic, with 46 percent saying they support the ban on Trump’s account, while 40 percent opposed it.

Last week, Facebook announced that it was suspending Trump until Jan. 7, 2023, a full two years after he was first barred from the platform. After that date, Facebook will evaluate whether the “risk to public safety” of restoring Trump’s account has abated.

Facebook’s independent Oversight Board had earlier cited Trump’s false comments about election fraud, the integrity of the 2020 presidential election and the Jan. 6 rioting by his supporters at the U.S. Capitol in ruling the former president’s account had “created an environment where a serious risk of violence was possible.” 

In its analysis, the board also criticized the company’s process for leveling suspensions based on content, saying it should strive to “ensure that when Facebook imposes a time-limited suspension on the account of an influential user to reduce the risk of significant harm, it will assess whether the risk has receded before the suspension ends.” 

Trump, a frequent critic of the country’s largest social media companies for what he and his supporters argue is bias against conservatives, blasted the move to keep the suspension on his account for another two years. 

“They shouldn’t be allowed to get away with this censoring and silencing, and ultimately, we will win. Our Country can’t take this abuse anymore!” Trump said in a statement after Facebook’s announcement. “Facebook’s ruling is an insult to the record-setting 75M people, plus many others, who voted for us in the 2020 Rigged Presidential Election.” 

The Politico-Morning Consult poll was conducted June 4-7, among 1,990 voters. It has a margin of error of 2 percentage points.