As uproar continues against a land giveaway for a Donald Trump presidential library in downtown Miami, a new local poll shows that opposition isn't exclusive to those aligned with the Democratic Party.
The political research firm Bendixen & Amandi polled 600 registered voters in Miami-Dade County on a variety of local and national issues in the past few weeks. Respondents ranged in age, political party and tax bracket.
While Republicans and Democrats diverged on a number of issues highlighted in the poll — including approval for President Trump and his immigration policies — voters on both sides of the aisle largely agreed that land owned by Miami Dade College should not have been given away for a future presidential library.
READ MORE: DeSantis proposes land for Trump presidential library in downtown Miami
In late September, the Miami Dade College Board of Trustees voted unanimously to convey a plot of college-owned land next to the historic Freedom Tower to the State of Florida. That same day, state officials announced their intention to give the land over to the Presidential Library Foundation to build a library in honor of President Trump. The Trump family has discussed their interest in also building a hotel to go along with the library.
The State Cabinet voted unanimously on Sept. 30 to deed the land to the foundation.
The land was purchased by the college in 2004 for about $25 million with the intention of expanding the downtown Wolfson Campus. According to the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser, the land is valued at around $67 million, although a real estate consultant told the New York Times the property could sell for at least $360 million on the market.
Miami Dade College President Emeritus Eduardo J. Padrón, who led the institution when it purchased the property, told WLRN that this recent land transfer was "unimaginable" without public input, and feared it would be a loss for the student body.
Speaking on Spanish-language Actualidad Radio over the weekend, Padrón called the move a "lack of respect" for the citizens of Miami because the trustees gave away the land without proper notice to the public and without any discussion.
A public notice for the special meeting where the trustees voted on the land merely noted that there would be discussions of "possible real estate transactions."
Outcry
The land transfer met with immediate backlash from the community, and from residents of all political persuasions.
According to the Bendixen & Amandi poll, 74% of respondents believed the land should remain in the hands of Miami Dade College. Of those respondents, 59% of Republicans opposed ceding the land for a Trump Library. An overwhelming majority of Democrats (94%) and a large majority of independents (69%) also wanted the college to keep the property.
Miami-Dade County residents and activists have protested the giveaway since the Trustees' vote, and have threatened legal action to halt the transfer.
Miami Seaquarium, Daniella Levine Cava and Trump
The Bendixen & Amandi poll included questions on other Miami-Dade County issues and land deals.
A majority of respondents said that they want the county to maintain the land that currently holds the Miami Seaquarium as a tourist attraction. Miami-Dade County officials moved to evict the Seaquarium last year operators from the land — which the county owns — following reports that animals were being mistreated at the facility. The attraction owners, The Dolphin Company, faces both bankruptcy and a criminal investigation.
The Seaquarium announced Monday that its final day in operation will be Oct. 12, 2025. Its operators accepted an offer from Resilient Aquarium LLC, an affiliate of developer Terra, to revamp the property into a modernized aquarium experience, pending county and court approval.
The pollsters also asked residents from all parties for their opinion on Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. Just over half expressed support for Levine Cava, with 64% of Democratic and 54% of Republican respondents saying they "strongly approve" or "somewhat approve" her work. Though the county mayor post is a nonpartisan position, Levine Cava is a registered Democrat and has aligned herself with progressive politics.
Of the Miami-Dade respondents who weighed in on Trump, 72% of Republicans polled threw their support behind the Republican president. Meanwhile, 71% of Democrats polled strongly disapproved of Trump, and 61% of independents disapproved of the president.
The issue of deporting undocumented migrants without criminal records in Miami-Dade County brought even stronger opinions from local Democrats, with 82% opposing such action. A majority of Republicans (62%), meanwhile, support deporting undocumented migrants regardless of their criminal records.
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