Outspoken candidate Donald Trump got more good news today — the vast majority of Americans agree that “political correctness” is a problem,
A new Rasmussen survey released Friday reveals that 71 percent of American adults believe that “political correctness… is a problem” in the U.S. Just 18 percent disagreed, and 10 percent were undecided.
“Political Correctness” was not actually defined in the survey. But the survey suggested it means social, corporate or legal pressure by progressives, corporate leaders and the media against Americans who oppose the elite’s regulation of free speech, civic society and private lives.
“Do Americans have true freedom of speech today, or do they have to be careful not to say something politically incorrect to avoid getting in trouble?,” asked the survey’s first question. “Is political correctness a problem in America today?” was the second question.
Americans’ generalized frustration with elite opposition to their free speech may be boosting Trump’s growing popularity.
That’s because the businessman-turned-presidential-candidate has rejected elite pressure during his campaign, and has candidly dismissed the progressives’ demand that conservatives’ long-evolved views should not allowed into debates about migration or sexual relations.
“I think the big problem that this country has is being politically correct,” Trump said earlier this month during the GOP primary debate, when he was asked about his prior language toward women.
“I’ve been challenged by so many people, and I frankly don’t have time for total political correctness, and to be honest with you, this country doesn’t have time either. This country is in big trouble. We don’t win anymore,” he responded.
Trump is currently leading the GOP field by double digit margins. The most recent Quinnipiac University National poll has Trump leading the GOP field with 28 percent of the vote; his closest competitor is neurosurgeon Ben Carson at 12 percent.
Last year the Rasmussen survey found that 61 percent of Americans thought that the U.S. had gotten too politically correct, just 12 thought it was not politically correct enough, 16 percent thought the amount of political correctness was just right, and 11 percent were not sure.
Friday’s survey of 1,000 American adults was conducted from August 25-26 and has a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.