Polls show US split over Trump impeachment

WASHINGTON: Americans are following impeachment proceedings closely – and are slightly more likely to approve than disapprove of the inquiry itself.

But the public is more closely split over whether President Donald Trump should be removed from office.

Several polls published since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the start of an impeachment inquiry on Sept 24 show a shift in views from earlier this year as the House of Representatives investigates whether Trump violated his oath of office in asking the government of Ukraine to investigate a political opponent.

The polls found that support for impeachment has shifted significantly from earlier this year.

The public is now more closely divided after earlier polls showed majority opposition to impeachment.

A Fox News poll conducted from Sunday through Tuesday found that 51% of Americans now say Trump should be impeached and removed from office, up from 42% who said that in July.

Likewise, a Washington PostSchar School survey conducted earlier this month shows that 58% of Americans are supportive of the decision by Congress to initiate an inquiry, including 49% who say Congress was right to begin an investigation and should also take the next step to remove Trump from office.

Earlier this year, Post-ABC polls found less than half of respondents saying that Congress should begin impeachment proceedings.

And polls show that the shift was closely tied to Pelosi’s announcement of the inquiry.

An early October poll from Quinnipiac University finds 45% of voters saying that Trump should be impeached and removed from office, up from 37% in a poll conducted immediately before that announcement.

Approval of Trump’s overall performance has remained steady, as it has over the course of his presidency.

The Quinnipiac poll shows the president’s approval rating standing at 40%, exactly where it was in their poll conducted just before the inquiry began.

But as with most political issues in today’s environment, views of the president and impeachment are intensely polarised.

A wide share of Democrats express support for impeachment, while the vast majority of Republicans stand opposed.

Today’s presidential impeachment inquiry is only the fourth in US history, and polling demonstrates different scenarios for how opinion has changed as impeachment proceedings proceeded.

While opinions of President Bill Clinton and support for his removal from office moved slightly throughout 1998 and 1999, he emerged largely unscathed.