Americans want Democrats to work with Trump: Poll

A strong majority of Americans has said that Democrats should look to cooperate with President Donald Trump to strike deals, according to a new poll.

The Harvard-Harris poll released on Saturday found that 73 per cent of voters wanted to see Democrats work with the President, against only 27 per cent who said Democrats should resist Trump's every move.

The findings are significant as Democratic leaders in Congress are under growing pressure by their liberal base to obstruct the President's agenda, reports The Hill magazine.

The poll showed the party is divided on how to deal with Trump: 52 per cent of Democrats polled said they should cooperate with him on areas of agreement and 48 per cent saying they should not.

Those figures were nearly identical when the question was flipped -- 68 per cent of those polled said Trump should be willing to compromise and find ways to work with Democrats in Congress.

Thirty-two per cent said Trump should not bend at all.

Republicans are similarly divided here, with 48 per cent wanting compromise and 52 per cent saying Trump should be unwavering.

"This shows that voters want Trump and Democrats to compromise and if they don't, they both may pay a heavy price with the electorate," said Mark Penn, the co-director of the Harvard-Harris poll.

Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer has said he was hopeful he can work with Trump on issues where there is bipartisan overlap, like trade, infrastructure spending, rebuilding the nation's inner cities, and closing the "carried interest" tax loophole.

While Trump entered the White House with a historically low approval rating, leading many Democrats to question his mandate to govern, the Harvard-Harris poll put him at a 45 per cent favourable and 51 per cent unfavourable.

Forty-eight per cent said they approved of the job Trump was doing, compared to 52 per cent who disapproved.

The online survey of 2,148 registered voters was conducted between February 11 and 13.