Nearly half of voters want Trump impeached and convicted. Trump says everyone's 'reading the wrong polls.'
At this moment in time, as House Democrats prepare to make their impeachment case public and President Trump is "ravenously consuming news about the subject — primarily through a friendly lens," as Politico reports, there seems to be an unusual consensus in the polls. Two polls released Sunday and one on Friday all found that 49 percent of voters want Trump both impeached and removed from office.
In a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released Sunday, the 49 percent support for impeaching and convicting Trump and 46 percent opposition is a reversal from a month ago, when 43 percent backed impeachment/removal and 49 percent said no. In Sunday's Fox News poll, 49 percent support, 41 percent opposition, for impeaching and removing Trump is a downward shift of 4 points from early October, when 51 percent backed the proposition and 40 percent opposed it. A Washington Post/ABC News numbers released Friday — 49 percent in favor of impeachment and removal and 47 percent opposed — are unchanged from early October.
There are wide partisan splits in the polling and an apparent hardening of positions — in the Fox News poll, 57 percent of impeachment opponents, or about a quarter of the entire sample, said no new evidence could make them support impeachment. In the same poll, 52 percent said the impeachment inquiry is a legitimate, important investigation while 39 percent called it "bogus." Trump agreed with the 39 percent. "You're reading the wrong polls," he told CNN's Jeremy Diamond on Sunday. The "real polls" show "people don't want anything to do with impeachment."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
All three polls were conducted Oct. 27-30. The Fox News poll surveyed 1,040 registered voters nationwide and has a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. WSJ/NBC News polled 900 adults, including 720 registered voters, Oct. 27-30, with a margin of error of ±3.3 points for the entire sample, ±3.7 points for registered voters. The Washington Post/ABC News poll surveyed 1,003 adults and has a margin of sampling error of ±3.5 points.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
The Christmas quiz 2024
From the magazine Test your grasp of current affairs and general knowledge with our quiz
By The Week UK Published
-
People of the year 2024
In the Spotlight Remember the people who hit the headlines this year?
By The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: December 25, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Putin says Russia isn't weakened by Syria setback
Speed Read Russia had been one of the key backers of Syria's ousted Assad regime
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Georgia DA Fani Willis removed from Trump case
Speed Read Willis had been prosecuting the election interference case against the president-elect
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Democrats blame 'President Musk' for looming shutdown
Speed Read The House of Representatives rejected a spending package that would've funding the government into 2025
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump, Musk sink spending bill, teeing up shutdown
Speed Read House Republicans abandoned the bill at the behest of the two men
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Congress reaches spending deal to avert shutdown
Speed Read The bill would fund the government through March 14, 2025
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Luigi Mangione charged with murder, terrorism
Speed Read Magnione is accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Ex-FBI informant pleads guilty to lying about Bidens
Speed Read Alexander Smirnov claimed that President Joe Biden and his son Hunter were involved in a bribery scheme with Ukrainian energy company Burisma
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
South Korea impeaches president, eyes charges
Speed Read Yoon Suk Yeol faces investigations on potential insurrection and abuse of power charges
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published