A new poll released by the Washington Post and ABC News shows Donald Trump hitting a record 60 percent unfavorable rating, with an approval rating of only 36 percent. The same poll shows strong support for Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and strong opposition to Trump firing attorney general Jefferson Sessions. And, no matter what Trump and Rudy Giuliani say, a majority of Americans are ready to say that Trump has obstructed justice.
All of which suggests that Americans are genuinely paying attention in the wake of the guilty plea from Trump attorney Michael Cohen and the guilty verdict against Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort. Two-thirds of respondents were aware of these cases and their results. Put that all together, and that means 49 percent of Americans want Congress to begin impeachment proceedings, even though the report from Mueller has yet to land on their desks. Forty-six percent opposed impeachment. As might be expected, the polls show a wide split along party lines on this issue, with a big majority of Democrats ready to impeach and an even larger percentage of Republicans trying to put on the brakes. But the number among Independents mirrors the overall result, with 49 percent ready to flush Trump.
With two months to go before midterms that have been highly nationalized, Republicans are saddled with leadership that’s at peak unpopularity and trending worse. If the GOP was intending to use the idea that a Democratic majority might impeach as a boogeyman to generate turnout … they need to rethink that strategy. At best, talking about impeachment might help energize the Republican base, but it’s a losing issue among swing voters.
And as Trump leans on Republican senators with increasing weight in his attempt to oust Sessions, the Post–ABC poll shows that idea is highly unpopular. Sixty-four percent feel that Trump should not fire Sessions, with only 19 percent backing his play. Trump’s attempt to start a DOJ makeover doesn’t even have majority support among Republicans.
Support for Mueller’s investigation is equally strong, with 63 percent favoring continuing the process. Among independents, more than two thirds favor carrying on the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Fifty-two percent of respondents say they support the Mueller investigation “strongly.”
Across the board, the poll numbers find no happy news for Trump. His personal support appears to be crashing to record lows, and his feints toward ending the Mueller investigation are drawing massive disapproval. For all his tweets, rallies, and claims of “fake news” Trump seems to have managed only to alienate voters and power an expanding opposition.
If Paul Manafort is expecting a Trump pardon to get him out of the charges on which he’s already been convicted, he should hope that Trump doesn’t get a peek at these poll numbers. Sixty-seven percent of Americans think the case against Manafort was “justified.” Only 17 percent would let him off. With Trump’s own numbers circling downward, pardoning Manafort might be more than he can carry.
On the issue of obstruction, 53 percent of all Americas say that Trump is guilty of obstructing justice. That number is again mirrored by the result among independent voters. An even larger number, 61 percent of all Americans, believe that Trump committed a crime in directing Michael Cohen to make payments in covering up his multiple affairs.
Overall, there doesn’t seem to be any good news for Trump in this poll. Which, of course, means it’s “fake news” as far as he’s concerned. And he can keep believing that … right up until November.