Majority of Americans now say they want Trump punished for obstructing justice: Poll

Trump

A majority of Americans now say they want to see President Donald Trump punished for actions he took during the Russia investigation which may constitute obstruction of justice, according to a new poll, but are conflicted when it comes to what should be done to Trump.

An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll finds that 52 percent of Americans want to see one of the following take place:

  • Impeachment proceedings to begin, 22 percent
  • Congressional investigations to continue, 25 percent
  • Censure or public reprimand, 5 percent

As National Public Radio notes:

Thirty-nine percent say no further action should be taken and that the current investigations should end. That is largely reflective of Trump’s base, as Trump maintains a 41% approval rating in the poll. (Trump’s approval rating in Marist’s polling has never been lower than 35%, which it hit right after the racist violence in Charlottesville, Va., in August 2017; or higher than 43%, which it reached in February 2019 as the unemployment rate dipped below 4%.)

Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, which conducted the poll, commented:

“Right now, there’s a growing appetite [for impeachment], but still not at the full-course meal.”

The number of people supporting impeachment is up 16 percent from a month ago, and most of that growth has taken place among those who call themselves independents.

Democrats, on the other hand, are almost equally split on impeachment. 36 percent say impeachment should begin, while 37 percent say investigations need to continue.

There was some good news for Trump in the Marist poll:

With Americans’ improving views of the economy, fewer are saying they will “definitely vote against” Trump in next year’s presidential election. In this poll, 51% say they will definitely vote against him, a proportion that has consistently ticked down since the beginning of 2019. In January, the number of Americans saying they would definitely vote against the president hit a high of 57%.

Remember, 54% of Americans did not vote for Trump in 2016. Trump won almost 63 million votes, just shy of 46% of the vote. Democrat Hillary Clinton won almost 3 million more votes, or 48% of the vote.

Trump’s trade war, however, could well send the economy into a recession, and that alone could spell doom for the president as he seeks re-election in 2020.

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