WITH the delegates he won from the Oregon primary on May 17th under his belt, Donald Trump has the Republican presidential nomination within his grasp. His partial attempt to soften his image has now begun in earnest, especially over one of his most provocative policies: a temporary ban on Muslims from entering America. Mr Trump recently said that this was “only a suggestion” and emphasised the exceptions (such as for London’s new mayor, Sadiq Khan) if it ever became law, stepping back somewhat from his forceful statement last December calling for a “total and complete shutdown” of Muslims coming to America. But how will Mr Trump’s shift go down with his supporters? His initial stance is approved of by an average 69% of voters in the Republican primaries, according to the exit polls (and closer to 80% in the South).
Mr Trump called for the ban on Muslims after the terrorist attacks in Paris and California, incidents which propelled terrorism to the top of the list of issues of concern to Americans, according to Gallup in December, soon after both. Worries about terrorism have been more salient on the Republican campaign trail this year than in 2008 (see chart), the last election at which there was enough polling to make a comparison, even beating anxieties over immigration, another of Mr Trump’s signature issues. More than half of Republican voters now say they would ...
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