Nearly half of America still thinks Trump colluded with Russia, even after Barr's Mueller report summary

Nearly half of Americans still think Trump colluded with Russia

(Image credit: Alex Wong / Getty Images)

last updated 27 March 2019

After Attorney General William Barr announced Sunday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation found no legally actionable evidence that President Trump or his campaign conspired or coordinated with Russia to win the 2016 election, House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) shrugged. "Undoubtedly there is collusion," he told The Washington Post. Nearly half of America agrees with him.

In a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Tuesday, 48 percent of respondents agreed "Trump or someone from his campaign worked with Russia to influence the 2016 election," which is down 6 percentage points from last week. The poll also found 53 percent said "Trump tried to stop investigations into Russian influence on his administration," a drop of 2 points; and 57 percent said they want to see Mueller's entire report. In all, only 9 percent of respondents familiar with Barr's summary said it had changed their views on Trump and Russia.

Trump got a bump in his approval rating, however, to 43 percent from 39 percent last week, hitting a 2019 high. Other polls conducted after Barr released his summary found little to no bump for Trump and worse numbers for the president on whether he obstructed justice, a determination Mueller declined to adjudicate. Rick Newman at Yahoo Finance predicted Monday that "the Mueller findings will probably produce a modest and temporary bump in Trump's approval rating, with voters promptly refocusing on issues that concern them most: the economy, health care, and education."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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