Trump crossed the line with Russia: poll

Most Americans think Donald Trump did something illegal or at least unethical regarding ties between his presidential campaign and Russia — and they think he’s trying to obstruct the investigation looking into those possible connections.

The deeply divided country is more concerned about health care and the economy than any collusion with the Kremlin, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. But the survey also shows that Americans are unhappy with the way Trump is dealing with the investigations led by Congress and special counsel Robert Mueller.

Most people believe Trump is trying to obstruct the investigations, which have produced charges against four of his campaign advisers and increasingly appear focused on the president’s inner circle.

Four in 10 Americans think the president has done something illegal when it comes to Russia, while an additional three in 10 say he’s at least done something unethical. And 68 per cent disapprove of his response to the investigations.

There are significant partisan divisions, with Democrats far more likely than Republicans to be concerned about Trump’s actions or to feel invested in what the probes uncover.

Debra Nanez in Arizona said that she believes Trump broke the law and has been lying to the American people.

“If you go back and do a rewind, you say, ‘Yep, he’s guilty.’ He’s lied so badly to us from the beginning until now. He was involved in it. He knew what was going on,” said Nanez, 65, who doesn’t affiliate with a political party.

But Mary Ruth Stephenson, 83, of Kentucky says she’s not yet sure whether Trump has broken the law.

“Unethical, yes. I mean the whole picture of that man is unethical. Illegal? I’ll just have to hold that in abeyance until I find out more about what went down,” said Stephenson, a registered Republican who says she’s unhappy with the current GOP.

Overall, 62 per cent of Democrats say they think Trump has done something illegal, while just five per cent of Republicans think the same. Among Republicans, 33 per cent think he’s done something unethical, while 60 per cent think he’s done nothing wrong at all.

Both Nanez and Stephenson, like 63 per cent of Americans, say Trump has tried to impede or obstruct the investigations into whether his campaign had Russian ties. According to the survey, 86 per cent of Democrats, 67 per cent of independents and 24 per cent of Republicans agree.