There's a reason you barely see or hear anymore from White House press sSecretary Sarah Sanders: Donald Trump thinks Attorney General William Barr is a better spokesperson for Trump's main obsession—the Russia probe.
But in a matter of mere months, Barr has shredded his own credibility to the point where only Trump's most loyal followers trust him, while a majority of Americans either deeply distrust him or find him shifty. Nearly half of American voters say Barr has been more interested in "protecting Trump" than in "enforcing the law" in regard to the special counsel’s Russia investigation, according to the latest Civiqs poll.
- Protecting Trump: 48%
- Enforcing the law: 38%
- Both: 8%
- Neither: 1%
- Unsure: 5%
After Barr testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, just 33% of voters said he had been "completely truthful," while 42% called him "deliberately misleading," and another 11% said he was "truthful but evasive on certain points." When less than a third of the population thinks the top law enforcement officer in the nation is completely truthful, that's a serious credibility issue. In fact, voters are almost evenly split on impeaching Barr, with 42% supporting it, 43% opposing, and 15% unsure.
Mueller, by comparison, is a far more trustworthy actor in the eyes of American voters. When asked whom they trust more to tell the truth about Russia's 2016 attack on our elections, voters choose Mueller over Barr by 20 points.
- Special Counsel Robert Mueller: 48%
- Attorney General William Barr: 28%
- I trust them both equally: 10%
- I don't trust either of them: 8%
- Unsure: 6%
So Trump may love the front being advanced by his attorney general, but Barr’s powers of persuasion have already been diminished down to the Trump faithful. Frankly, Barr would have been a far more dangerous advocate for Trump if he hadn’t so blatantly lied to the American public about the Russia probe.