Sixty percent of Americans believe that President Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey in order to "protect himself," rather than "for the good of the country," a new ABC News/Washington Post poll has found. A vast majority, seven in 10, also distrusts President Trump's statements about Russia, with half of Americans saying they have no trust in Trump's word on the matter whatsoever.
The poll comes a day before Comey's highly anticipated testimony before the Senate, during which he will answer questions about reports that Trump tried to pressure him to drop an FBI probe into ousted National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, who reportedly also faced pressure from the president to curb the FBI's investigation, will testify today. Trump is reportedly prepared to "punch" back at Comey, with some White House aides saying to expect him to fire off tweets describing his reactions.
But Trump will face a tough audience: Just 27 percent of Americans think Trump fired Comey in America's best interests. Even Republicans aren't sure how to feel, with 48 percent distrusting Trump on the topic of Russia, and 45 percent trusting him.
Many Americans are also suspicious of Comey's word, too, though: 55 percent have some distrust or no trust in what he says about Russia. But "that said, distrust is 17 points lower than it is for Trump, and twice as many Americans have no trust whatsoever in what Trump says on the issue (50 percent) as have no trust at all in what Comey says (25 percent)," ABC News writes.
The poll reached 527 adults on the telephone in English and Spanish between June 2-4. The margin of error is plus or minus 5 points.