Support for impeaching Donald Trump reaches record high, poll finds
The President's popularity has declined over the last month
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Andrew Feinberg
White House Correspondent
Nearly half of all Americans support impeaching President Donald Trump, according to a poll by Public Policy Polling (PPP) – a record high since the group began asking the question.
At the end of October, 49 per cent of voters surveyed by the Democratic polling firm said they would support impeaching the President. Forty-one per cent said they would oppose it.
October marked the sixth month in a row that a plurality of voters supported impeaching Mr Trump. The President also saw a decrease in his favourability ratings this month, by a net of seven per cent.
“Basically everything we poll on a monthly basis is at a record low point for Trump right now,” said PPP President Dean Debnam.
Mr Trump has had a difficult month, which culminated with special counsel Robert Mueller issuing indictments for two of his former campaign staffers. The indictments had been reported on, but not released, at the time the PPP survey was conducted.
The indictments included charges against Mr Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and former adviser George Papadopoulos.
Mr Trump continued to dismiss the indictments as “fake news” after their release, and attempted to shift the focus to Hillary Clinton’s dealings with Russia. The majority of voters, however, said they did not believe the Russia story was fake, and supported Mr Mueller's investigation into the Trump campaign.
The President’s recent focus on tax reform has proved unpopular, with just 29 per cent of voters saying they approve of the GOP’s tax plan. The number is even lower than those who support Mr Trump's plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Even among Mr Trump’s base, the tax plan receives just over 60 per cent approval.
In fact, approval for Mr Trump as a whole has declined among Republicans. In September, he led the race for the 2020 Republican nomination by 34 points. This month, he led by only 21.
In a sign of growing disenchantment with the President, more than one million people have signed on to a petition to impeach Mr Trump. The petition, created by billionaire Tom Steyer, calls for the President to be removed from office for his "abuse or violation of some public trust."
Mr Steyer told TIME that Mr Trump is “an immediate danger to the health and safety of America," adding: "This administration doesn't have a clue."
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