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As Senate Trial Begins, 44% Approve of Trump (Gallup Poll) The Shrike Send a noteboard - 22/01/2020 12:47:44 PM

As Senate Trial Begins, 44% Approve of Trump

BY JEFFREY M. JONES

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump begins, 44% of Americans approve of the job he is doing as president. Trump's approval rating has been steady in the past three polls -- between 43% and 45% -- slightly above the 39% to 41% ratings he received as the impeachment inquiry started in the fall.

Trump's recent job approval ratings -- though below the historical average 53% for post-World War II presidents -- are among the highest of his presidency. His personal best is 46%, while he has averaged 40% job approval for his entire term.

Currently, 88% of Republicans, 37% of independents and 10% of Democrats approve of the job Trump is doing.

Public Leans Against Removing Trump From Office

The Jan. 2-15 poll was conducted after the U.S. House voted to impeach Trump in December but before the Senate trial formally began last Thursday. The House has accused Trump of withholding congressionally approved foreign aid to Ukraine contingent on that country investigating a political rival of the president, and obstructing Congress in its investigation of the matter.

Forty-six percent of Americans say they would like their senators to vote to convict Trump and remove him from office, while 51% want their senators to vote against conviction so Trump will remain as president.

Like his approval rating, Trump's impeachment figures are also sharply divided along partisan lines. Ninety-three percent of Republicans are opposed to convicting Trump and 84% of Democrats favor doing so. Independents are evenly divided, with 49% in favor and 46% opposed.

Though public opinion currently tilts against removing Trump from office, more want to see the Senate remove him than wanted the same for Bill Clinton after he was impeached by the House in 1998. In several polls conducted in January and early February 1999, an average of 33% of Americans were in favor of the Senate convicting Clinton and removing him from office, while 63% were opposed.

The president's own party is about as opposed to impeachment for Trump as the Democratic Party was for Clinton; but the opposition party and political independents are more strongly aligned against Trump than they were against Clinton.

Seven percent of Republicans today, versus 8% of Democrats in 1999, wanted the Senate to remove a president of their own party.

65% of Republicans wanted Clinton removed, but 84% of Democrats want to see Trump ousted today.

Thirty-two percent of independents wanted Clinton removed from office, compared with 49% wanting the same for Trump.

Implications
As was the case for Clinton, the impeachment of Trump has not had a noticeably negative effect on his popular support. In fact, for both presidents, impeachment had the opposite effect of increasing their public approval. Clinton registered a personal best 73% approval rating immediately after being impeached. Clinton's higher rating may also have been aided by U.S. airstrikes against Iraq that occurred at the same time as the House impeachment vote.

Clinton's job approval ratings held in the mid- to high 60s as the Senate tried him on his impeachment charges in early 1999. Trump's job approval ratings are nowhere near as high as Clinton's were during his impeachment saga, but they are among the best Trump has registered as president.

Both Clinton and Trump were impeached at a time when the U.S. economy was strong, but Trump is operating in a much more partisan environment than Clinton was. The polarization is holding Trump's job approval rating down, especially among Democrats but also independents. The greater correspondence between partisanship and views of the president also helps explain why more want Trump to be removed from office than wanted Clinton to be.

What is interesting about this is at this point in President Obama's first term he had an approval rating of 45%. https://news.gallup.com/poll/116479/barack-obama-presidential-job-approval.aspx So roughly the same percentage for each. It's something I wish the media would speak more about but that would require an objective reporting of facts which doesn't fuel partisanship/ratings.

What's also interesting is that the HofR has not managed to convince people of anything since Trump's approval rating has actually gone up since the proceedings in the House have begun. And the majority of Americans polled actually want their Senators to acquit Trump. I think Nancy Pelosi always knew this would happen. Now if only the news would objectively report on this Gallup poll

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As Senate Trial Begins, 44% Approve of Trump (Gallup Poll) - 22/01/2020 12:47:44 PM 519 Views
It was my understanding that there would be no math - 22/01/2020 03:53:05 PM 180 Views
You do realize that is the single most anti-impeachment recent poll out there? - 22/01/2020 06:19:18 PM 203 Views
Practical question - 23/01/2020 03:05:59 PM 156 Views
Not really, no. - 23/01/2020 07:23:58 PM 179 Views
Fivethirtyeight rates the polling of it a B. So it's credible. - 24/01/2020 02:07:19 PM 183 Views
So true - 24/01/2020 03:41:43 PM 159 Views
Sure it is, I didn't say it's an unreliable poll. Just that it's an outlier. - 24/01/2020 06:41:47 PM 172 Views
I agree with everything you replied with. - 24/01/2020 07:22:45 PM 173 Views
Not sure I agree with your last point. - 24/01/2020 08:06:49 PM 162 Views
I wonder what Pelosi has in mind for her endgame. - 22/01/2020 06:38:41 PM 175 Views
The Democrats already know they're going to lose 1 here in Alabama - 22/01/2020 06:58:00 PM 184 Views
I assume that's why he said 4. Otherwise 3 would do it, with a Dem VP. - 22/01/2020 07:26:04 PM 173 Views
I don't think that's what he meant. - 22/01/2020 07:32:20 PM 167 Views
Oh. Right. Assuming a Trump re-election, then - certainly plausible at this point. *NM* - 22/01/2020 07:38:37 PM 82 Views
Yes aerocontrols is right.. - 22/01/2020 08:39:49 PM 171 Views
That bump is, at least so far, purely hypothetical. - 22/01/2020 09:25:55 PM 182 Views
It's also 10 months away. Polls can change a lot in 10 months. *NM* - 22/01/2020 09:49:41 PM 79 Views
Your premise is full of shit - 23/01/2020 05:44:01 PM 192 Views
Er, yes, since you ask, I do include you among said 'rabid Trump fanboys'. - 23/01/2020 06:58:41 PM 178 Views
And I consider you a moron. Your point? *NM* - 23/01/2020 07:59:11 PM 99 Views
Clearly I don't have any point you're interested in hearing. - 23/01/2020 08:38:27 PM 172 Views
I mean, Roy Moore is running in this election again, as far as I'm aware. - 23/01/2020 03:41:57 AM 174 Views
Yeah, but it seems super unlikely, right? - 23/01/2020 03:11:06 PM 160 Views
Man I sincerely hope not, but Moore's sorta like a cold sore. - 23/01/2020 05:13:27 PM 159 Views
Surely this time, if Trump is also all-in against him, there's no way he wins the primary? *NM* - 23/01/2020 07:02:33 PM 88 Views
Surely, a pedophile won't win the nomination. - me a few years back *NM* - 24/01/2020 04:11:58 AM 87 Views
?! - 24/01/2020 12:35:28 PM 171 Views
Re: ?! *NM* - 24/01/2020 12:35:54 PM 83 Views
The login problem seems to be blocking attempts to edit posts - 24/01/2020 12:38:34 PM 162 Views
Apparently afterwards it was claimed that this was widely known in his hometown since the 80s... - 24/01/2020 06:07:15 PM 171 Views
That was the line Moore's voters used. - 24/01/2020 07:23:06 PM 166 Views
The parts he openly admitted to were questionable enough. - 24/01/2020 08:07:08 PM 171 Views

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