So how do Americans feel about Parkland gun control activist David Hogg’s call to launch a boycott of Laura Ingraham’s advertisers because she poked fun of him for getting rejected by some colleges? According to a new Economist/YouGov poll, a plurality think it’s out of line.
YouGov’s new poll found that 40% of respondents overall think Hogg’s call for a boycott is “inappropriate,” while 34% think it’s “appropriate.” More than a quarter (27%) are “not sure.”
Republicans overwhelmingly disagree with it: 65% says it’s inappropriate, while just 18% think it’s okay; 16% are ambivalent. While a slim majority (54%) of Democrats think it’s appropriate, 19% don’t agree with it and another 27% are unsure.
While more disagree with Hogg’s actions than agree with them, more people also disagree with Ingraham’s initial tweet that Hogg used as the rationale for the boycott campaign. A total of 52% think her tweet poking fun at Hogg is inappropriate; only 26% think it’s okay.
As for how Americans feel about her apology, most think it was a good move, though 49% of Republicans say she shouldn’t have apologized to the activist at all. “But there are doubts whether her apology was sincere. 30% say it was, while 39% claim it was not,” YouGov reports.
Another hot button topic the poll gauged is opinion of the NRA: Overall, more people have a negative view of the NRA than a positive, but not by much. A total of 43% have a “somewhat” or “very unfavorable” view of the pro-Second Amendment organization, while 38% have a somewhat or very favorable view of it. Nearly a fifth (19%) are “not sure.”
“Those with the most favorable views of the NRA are the most likely to take Ingraham’s side, By three to one they believe she should not have apologized to Hogg,” YouGov notes. “Those who are ‘somewhat favorable’ towards the NRA are evenly split. Most who dislike the organization support Ingraham’s apology. By two to one, those who are very favorable towards the NRA say that the Parkland students’ organizing of protests and rallies is inappropriate.”
As the campaign effort was ratcheting up, Ingraham announced that she was taking a week off to be with the family. On Monday, Fox News co-president Jack Abernethy issued a statement making clear the network has no intention of caving to any “agenda-driven intimidation efforts” to censor speech.
“We cannot and will not allow voices to be censored by agenda-driven intimidation efforts,” he said. “We look forward to having Laura Ingraham back hosting her program next Monday when she returns from spring vacation with her children.”