The Washington Post/Schar School Poll Finds 58% of Americans Now Approve Of The Impeachment Inquiry of President Donald Trump up from 37% Back In July.
By David Todd McCarty | Tuesday, October 8, 2019
As the impeachment inquiry into alleged abuses of power by President Donald Trump have ramped up, we have seen a significant shift in the court of public opinion. Republicans who have supported the President unwaveringly and moderate Democrats who have tried to stay out of the fray, might soon find themselves in an untenable situation. As the country careens towards the 2020 election, it’s highly likely that impeachment is going to decide many an election beyond the Presidential race, and where they fall on the subject of impeachment could decide their fates.
A new poll released today found that for the first time, a majority of Americans now approve of the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump by the Democrats. The poll found that 58% of respondents favored impeachment with 38% saying they disagreed. Compare that to a similar poll conducted in July when the results were almost exactly inverted with 59% of respondents saying they were against impeachment, and only 37% were for it.
When asked, “Do you think President Trump does or does not uphold adequate standards for ethics in government?” 60% responded that he did not, while 35% thought that he did.
They were also asked, “Trump held back military aid to Ukraine in the weeks before his request about investigating Biden and his son. How much, if at all, do you think this matters in judging Trump’s actions?” 58% felt it was important, and 37% felt it had no bearing.
When it came to how Democrats and Republicans have handled the impeachment inquiry, Democrats had a favorability of 49%, with 44% disapproving, while Republicans only had a favorability rating of 33%, with 56% disapproving.
Among those believed that impeachment was warranted, when asked, “Do you think the House of Representatives should or should not vote to remove Trump from office?” 86% felt he should be removed with only 11% saying he should not, and 4% with no opinion.
Respondents self identified as 30% Democrats, 25% Republicans and 44% Independents.
The poll from the Washington Post and the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, was conducted from October 1-6, and involved a random sampling of 1,007 adults reached by telephone, both land line and cell phone. The margin of error was 3.5 percentage points.
You can download the full text of the poll here.
