Only 40 percent of Americans think that President Trump's campaign worked with Russia to influence the outcome of the election, a new Washington Post/ABC News poll has found. Although 60 percent of Americans think Russia tried to interfere in the election, up slightly from April following revelations about Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with a Russian lawyer for incriminating information about Hillary Clinton in June 2016, just 44 percent suspect Russia's meddling benefited Trump.
Of Trump Jr.'s meeting, just a quarter of Americans thought it was "appropriate" for the president's son to meet with the lawyer. On the other hand, 63 percent of voters found the meeting to be "inappropriate," with even independents considering the meeting inappropriate by a 36-point margin. Only Republicans found the meeting more appropriate than inappropriate, although that margin was still relatively slim, just 15 points.
The Washington Post notes that "responses to the question correlate strongly to how people feel Trump is doing as president," adding that "there's a correlation between views of Trump and views of Russian meddling." If you believe Trump is doing a good job as president, that is, you're more likely to believe Russia didn't try to influence the election either.
Additionally, voters don't tend to waver once they've made up their mind about Trump's possible collusion with Russia. "[H]ow you felt about Trump and Russia in April is pretty much how you feel about it now," the Post concludes.
The Post/ABC News poll also saw Trump's approval rating drop to 36 percent from 42 percent in April and found that 48 percent of Americans think the country has become a weaker world leader since Trump was inaugurated. The poll was conducted between July 10-13, reached 1,001 random adults on both cell phones and landlines, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent. Read more about the results here.