American college campuses have experienced mass demonstrations and occupations by students and outsiders in recent months following Israel’s powerful response to the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks by the Islamist group Hamas. Do Americans support this? No, the latest I&I/TIPP Poll shows.
Many average Americans expressed shock at the sudden violent, and well-organized, demonstrations and tent cities that sprang up at universities around the nation, largely in support of Hamas and the destruction of Israel.
A solid majority of Americans are not happy with this, according to May’s national online I&I/TIPP Poll of 1,435 adults, taken May 1-3. Some 60% of all those said they either disapprove “somewhat” (18%) or “strongly” (42%) with the demonstrations.
The poll has a margin of error of +/-2.6 percentage points.
A far smaller total of 24% said they either supported the demonstrations “strongly” (9%) or “somewhat” (15%). Another 16% said they were “not sure.”
But the repudiation of the demonstrations is not across the board, at least when it comes to the demographics of the respondents.
Among Democrats, for instance, 32% said they supported the demonstrations and encampments, while a mere plurality of 48% said they didn’t support the activities.
That compares with 16% of Republicans and 22% of independents who expressed support, with 73% and 61%, respectively, responding that they did not support the at-times violent demonstrations.
Race or ethnicity is another sharp difference.
Among African-Americans, for instance, 45% approved of the demonstrations, while 37% disapproved. Hispanics had a different response: Just 33% approved, while 51% disapproved.
White Americans? Only 15% approve of the demonstrations, while 69% disapprove.
How about age? Another big gradient among different age groups: For those 18-24, it was 35% approve, 48% disapprove; for those 25-44, nearly identical 34% approve, 44% disapprove. But among those 45-64 years old, the approval plunges to just 19%, with 66% disapproval.
And for those over 65, members of the last generation to experience such violent demonstrations during the Vietnam War, the numbers are lowest of all: Just 10% approve, and 83% disapprove.
Finally, gender was yet another difference. While men (59% disapprove) and women (61% disapprove) were nearly identical, they split when it came to the share saying they approve of the demonstrations: 30% of men said they approve, with 12% unsure, versus 18% of women approving, but 21% unsure.
I&I/TIPP asked a follow-on question of those who expressed support for the demonstrations: “If the demonstrations lead to school closures, cancellation of activities such as graduation ceremonies, or forced online learning, would you still approve of them?”
Disruption of learning seems to be a deal breaker, even for those who support the demonstrations. Among them, just 47% said they would still back the demonstrations, while 39% said they wouldn’t and 14% said they were not sure.
So the 24% overall support for the demonstrations is cut roughly in half if they are disruptive. Clearly, Americans are fed up with it all.
Already, some major universities are experiencing deep regrets for permitting violent demonstrations.
Many angry, formerly generous donors say they will no longer give money to institutions that appear to back the destruction of Israel. Columbia, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, MIT, USC, UCLA, and hosts of other campuses both large and small across the country, all faced angry and at times violent demonstrations in favor of Hamas and against Israel.
This was no tempest in a teapot. By February, an estimated 1,600 donors had withheld or threatened to withhold donations because of administrators lax attitude toward overtly antisemitic demonstrations. Major schools have lost billions, while even science-oriented MIT has had a $100 million donation rescinded.
Much of this came about after prominent university heads appeared before Congress, making remarks in support of their campuses that even supporters thought were weak.
“Critics say (Penn President Liz) Magill, (Harvard President Claudine) Gay and MIT president Sally Kornbluth failed to convince Congress and the public that they can adequately protect their Jewish students,” noted NPR.
“Those concerns largely erupted after the university presidents were asked whether ‘calling for the genocide of Jews’ would violate their school’s code of conduct. Many felt their answers were too legalistic and lacked moral clarity at a time when both antisemitism and anti-Arab and anti-Muslim incidents are on the rise in the country.”
That is likely still the case. Why? According to some students interviewed who were affected by the climate of hate on many of the nation’s campuses, there’s a very clear culprit.
“Jewish students across the United States have expressed concern for their safety and suggested school faculty, as well as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, are promoting antisemitic viewpoints that ratchet up the political temperature on campus,” according to a Fox News report.
They’re not alone in believing so.
“DEI, CRT (critical race theory), and other ‘academic acronyms’ typically hinge on this idea of people falling into two categories — either the oppressors or the oppressed,” writes Tom Knighton in his Tilting At Windmills substack column. “This stems from Marxism itself, where Marx wrote of the bourgeoise and the proletariat as essentially the same thing only in terms of class.”
How serious are the powers that be taking this threat to free speech and academic freedom?
A number of campuses across the nation have started to dismantle their DEI departments, which many legal scholars believe are little more than tools for discriminating against white, Jewish and Asian students in both college admissions and jobs. Florida Gov. DeSantis has taken the anti-DEI action a step further, banning DEI in all state schools.
As I&I/TIPP’s poll shows, a backlash has formed against this campus antisemitism that has torn entire learning communities apart, and possibly ruined the future job and career prospects for some of the participants.
Americans are fed up with it, and overwhelmingly oppose the campus activism supporting it. It doesn’t at all seem unlikely that this is yet another thing that registered voters will have on their minds when they step into the voting booth in November.
That’s at least a strong possibility, given that among those financially backing the supposedly spontaneous demonstrations are “philanthropists pushing hard for (Biden’s) reelection,” including “some of the biggest names in Democratic circles: Soros, Rockefeller and Pritzker,” according to a Politico analysis.
I&I/TIPP publishes timely, unique, and informative data each month on topics of public interest. TIPP’s reputation for polling excellence comes from being the most accurate pollster for the past five presidential elections.
Terry Jones is an editor of Issues & Insights. His four decades of journalism experience include serving as national issues editor, economics editor, and editorial page editor for Investor’s Business Daily.
TIPP Takes
Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, And More
1. Iran’s President Raisi, FM Killed In Helicopter Crash: State TV – Al Arabiya
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian died when their helicopter crashed as it was crossing mountain terrain in heavy fog, the country’s official state TV confirmed.
Raisi had visited the northwestern province to inaugurate a dam project on their common border with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged Iranians to “not worry” about the Islamic Republic’s leadership, saying, “There will be no disruption in the country’s work.”
2. Israel Urges U.S. Bipartisan Support Against Establishment Of A Palestinian State – Reuters
Israel called for bipartisan support from the United States against the establishment of a Palestinian state, which it said would be a reward for Hamas and its backer, Iran.
European Union members, including Ireland, Spain, Slovenia, and Malta, have said they could recognize a Palestinian state this month, seeing a two-state solution as essential for lasting peace.
Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, who met top House Republican Elise Stefanik earlier, said if a Palestinian state was established, Iran would use it as a base to “work towards the destruction of Israel.”
3. U.S. Security Adviser Urges Netanyahu To Connect War To ‘Political Strategy’ – BBC
After holding talks in Saudi Arabia, Biden’s National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel.
Mr. Sullivan “reaffirmed the need for Israel to connect its military operations to a political strategy that can ensure the lasting defeat of Hamas, the release of all the hostages, and a better future for Gaza,” a White House statement said.
Netanyahu has not articulated a vision for what will happen after the war, saying only that he is focused on “total victory.”
4. Zelenskyy Warns Russia’s Kharkiv Offensive May Only Be ‘First Wave’ – Al Jazeera
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued the warning as he appealed to allies to send more air defense and fighter jets.
In an interview with the AFP news agency, Zelenskyy conceded that Ukraine only has a quarter of the air defenses it needs to hold the front line while the war grinds on.
To increase troop numbers, Zelenskyy signed two laws, one enabling prisoners to join the army and another increasing fines for draft dodgers fivefold, which took effect on Saturday.
5. Russia’s Glide Bombs Devastating Ukraine’s Cities On The Cheap – BBC
The mass use of glide bombs by Russia is a relatively recent development, one that has proven devastating for Ukrainian forces in recent months.
Glide bombs are cheap but destructive. They are built by adding fold-out wings and satellite navigation to old Soviet bombs.
A recent report by the Centre for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) said they were decisive in February’s capture of the once heavily fortified key eastern town of Avdiivka.
6. Russia To Lift Gasoline Export Ban, RBC Reports – Reuters
The Russian government has decided to suspend the temporary ban on gasoline exports as the market is sufficiently supplied, the RBC daily reported, citing a source familiar with the decision.
Russia banned gasoline exports for six months from March 1. However, it exempted a Moscow-led economic union and some countries with direct inter-governmental fuel supply agreements, such as Mongolia.
RBC, citing a source, said the decision to suspend the ban will be published at the beginning of the week.
7. China Hits Back At U.S. And EU As Trade Rows Deepen – BBC
China has launched an anti-dumping probe into imports of widely used plastic from the U.S., EU, Taiwan, and Japan.
The announcement from the Ministry of Commerce that Imports of polyoxymethylene copolymer – used in electronics and cars – is a signal that China will hit back in its trade disputes with the U.S. and Europe.
Less than a week ago, Washington sharply increased tariffs on Chinese goods, including electric vehicles (EVs), solar panels, and computer chips.
8. ‘Stop Threatening Taiwan,’ Its New President William Lai Tells China – BBC
Taiwan’s newly inaugurated president, William Lai, urged Beijing to replace confrontation with dialogue shortly after being sworn in on Monday.
He also said Taiwan would never back down in the face of intimidation from China, which has long claimed the island as its own.
Mr. Lai is loathed by China, which sees him as a “secessionist.”
9. Chinese Agents Highly Active In Democratic Taiwan, Dissidents Say – RFA
Two exiled dissidents say they have been approached and followed multiple times since fleeing to the island.
One of them believes the ruling Chinese Communist Party under Xi Jinping is now focusing closely on “cleaning up” opposition voices overseas and has spotted people he believes to be Chinese agents several times at public events in democratic Taiwan.
10. Post-Brexit Trade Border Controls To Cost UK $6 Billion – D.W.
The UK voted to leave the European Union in 2016 but remained in the bloc’s single market and customs union until 2021. In 2021, the UK withdrew from the EU customs union, and a new EU-UK Trade Cooperation Agreement (TCA) was enacted.
The UK’s public spending watchdog was also critical of the government’s 2025 UK Border Strategy, published in 2020, saying it “lacks a clear timetable and an integrated cross-government delivery plan, with individual departments leading different aspects of implementation.”
11. France’s Macron Convenes Urgent Meeting Amid Escalating Unrest In New Caledonia – AFP
It is the third such meeting in less than a week. The previous two resulted in the decision to declare a state of emergency in French territory and then send reinforcements to help government forces on the ground restore order.
New Caledonia, with a population of about 270,000, has been convulsed by unrest since Monday, sparked by French plans to impose new rules that would give tens of thousands of non-Indigenous residents voting rights.
12. North Korea Slams U.S. Subcritical Nuclear Test, Vows Measures To Bolster Nuclear Deterrence – Yonhap
North Korea threatened to take powerful deterrent action against what it claims is the U.S. nuclear threat, denouncing Washington for its recent subcritical nuclear test.
The U.S. carried out a subcritical nuclear test in Nevada last week, the third of its kind under President Joe Biden. The U.S. said it was designed to collect “essential data” about its nuclear warheads.
13. Spain Recalls Ambassador After Argentina’s Milei Calls PM’s Wife ‘Corrupt’ – Reuters
Argentina’s President Javier Milei had called Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s wife, Begona Gomez, “corrupt” during a rally in Madrid organized by the far-right Vox party and attended by many of its international allies.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said he expected an apology from Milei. Milei would not apologize, his spokesperson said in an interview with an Argentine TV channel later.
Milei’s visit broke diplomatic protocol as he refused to meet Spain’s King Felipe and Sanchez. Instead, he preferred to promote his book alongside Vox leader Santiago Abascal at the party rally.
14. U.S. Forces To Withdraw From Niger By Mid-September – UPI
The withdrawal, which has already begun, will be completed no later than Sept. 15.
Niger has been an important ally to the United States for more than a decade in its fight against terrorism in the Sahel region and was home to the largest U.S. military presence on the continent at more than 1,000 troops, according to the Congressional Research Service.
But, since the fall of Niger’s U.S.-aligned democratic government fell following a military coup, Niger has grown closer to both Russia and Iran, sparking worries in Washington.
Republished with permission from TIPP Insights
