Americans split on US as science leader under Trump

Washington, Jan 27 (IANS) When it comes to the US being seen as the global leader in science and innovation under President Donald Trump, 40 percent of US citizens disagree with this, a new survey has revealed.

Those in agreement include a strong majority of Republicans (70 per cent) compared to Independents (34 per cent) and Democrats (19 percent), according to the survey commissioned by the public opinion market research firm Research!America.

When asked if great strides in science and innovation will continue while Donald Trump is President, opinions were also divided (46 per cent agree, 33 per cent disagree and 22 per cent not sure), with more Republicans (74 per cent) than Independents (44 per cent) and Democrats (22 per cent) agreeing.

Medical research and public health should be a priority in the first 100 days in the new administration, they feel.

In another key finding, a significant number of Americans (79 percent) agree that it is important for President Trump to assign high priority to putting health research and innovation to work to assure continued medical progress.

"It is noteworthy that respondents across party lines agree with putting research to work and paying more in taxes to support medical research; at the same time, it is not surprising that Republicans are significantly more confident in President Trump's leadership," said Mary Woolley, Research!America president and CEO.

In a separate question, more than half of Americans (54 per cent) say strengthening the ability to fight public health threats and investing in medical research (50 per cent) should be a priority for President Trump's and Congress' first 100 days in office.

"It is noteworthy that respondents across party lines agree with putting research to work and paying more in taxes to support medical research; at the same time, it is not surprising that Republicans are significantly more confident in President Trump's leadership," said Mary Woolley.

"Americans recognize that science is fundamental to so many priorities that matter," she added.

The survey of 1,005 US adults was conducted by Zogby Analytics in January.

According to the findings, more than half of Americans (54 per cent) do not believe that the United States has the best health care system in the world.

"Nearly 70 per cent agree that the federal government should assign a higher priority to improving education focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics and careers in those fields," the report said.