Poll: Donald Trump supporters veer towards bigotry

Supporters of US presidential candidate Donald Trump are more likely to describe black people as ‘criminal,’ ‘unintelligent,’ ‘lazy’ and ‘violent’ than voters who backed some Republican rivals in the primaries or who support Democratic contender Hillary Clinton, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll.

Ahead of the November 8 election to replace Barack Obama, the first black US president, the poll also showed significant numbers of Americans in the Republican and Democratic parties view blacks more negatively than whites, have anxiety about living in diverse neighbourhoods, and are concerned that affirmative action policies discriminate against whites.

Republicans in the survey expressed these concerns to a greater degree than Democrats, with Trump supporters presenting the most critical views of blacks.