National support for President Trump’s impeachment has ticked up in recent months, according to a new Monmouth University poll released Wednesday.
About 42 percent of adult respondents to the survey say they think Trump should be impeached, up from 36 percent in November, while 54 percent say he should not be ousted. Another 4 percent are unsure. The uptick was mostly driven by respondents who identified as independents, 40 percent of whom backed impeachment, up 14 points from four months ago.
{mosads}The poll comes as the Democratic-led House expands its investigations into Trump’s personal and political orbits and special counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly nearing the end of his probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
The survey fell largely along party lines, with 75 percent of Democrats supporting calls for the president’s ouster, while only 8 percent of Republicans believe Trump should be forced out of office.
“The fact that more independents are starting to question Trump’s fitness for office could be a sign of trouble, if not for impeachment itself than for his reelection prospects in 2020,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.
However, Trump’s job approval rating remained steady. About 44 percent of adults said they approve of the job he is doing as president, nearly identical to the 43 percent who said the same in November.
The White House remains dogged by a bevy of investigations from House Democrats in addition to the widespread Mueller probe. In the most recent development, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) this week requested documents and information from 81 individuals associated with Trump.
However, a plurality of Americans suggest that Democrats may not be acting in good faith, with 46 percent of those surveyed saying Democrats were more interested in undermining Trump during a hearing with his former personal attorney Michael Cohen last week, while 31 percent said Democrats were more interested in revealing the truth.
Mueller’s investigation continues to get a majority of Americans’ support, with 53 percent saying he should be allowed to continue his work. Roughly 54 percent of Americans expressed support for the special counsel in November.
Monmouth University surveyed 802 adults from March 1 to 4. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.