Poll: 60 percent say Trump should not be reelected

A new poll finds that a strong majority of voters believes that President Trump does not deserve a second term in office.

A Monmouth University survey released Wednesday found that only 37 percent of voters believe Trump should be reelected, while 60 percent said they think it’s time to have someone new in the White House.

That’s the highest percentage of voters saying they’re eager for change since Monmouth first began asking the question in November. The numbers come weeks ahead of Trump’s expected official launch for his 2020 reelection campaign. 

{mosads}Trump’s approval rating is at 40 percent positive and 52 percent negative. That’s at the low end of his approval ratings for the past 12 months, during which time his positive rating has been from 40 to 44 percent and his negative rating has ranged from 46 to 54 percent. 

The president’s approval rating remains high among Republicans, at 86 percent positive. Thirty-seven percent of independents have a favorable view of Trump, compared to 50 percent who view him unfavorably.

The poll also found deep pessimism about the direction of the country, with 29 percent of respondents saying the U.S. is on the right track and 63 percent saying it is headed in the wrong direction.

Despite the desire to elect Trump’s replacement in 2020, a majority of voters, 56 percent, say Trump should not be impeached and compelled to leave office, while 39 percent support impeachment and removal.

“A majority want someone else in the Oval Office, but are willing to wait until the next election,” said Monmouth University pollster Patrick Murray.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has so far rebuffed demands from some in her caucus that the House begin impeachment proceedings, but at least 27 House Democrats support impeachment, according to The Hill’s latest whip count.

The White House has forced the issue by stonewalling Democratic demands for documents and testimony from key figures, such as former White House counsel Don McGahn. 

The Monmouth survey found that more than two-thirds of voters support having McGahn testify, with 56 percent of those saying the testimony should be in public.

And 73 percent say special counsel Robert Mueller should testify before Congress. Mueller is in discussions with House Democrats over the terms of his testimony, with media reports indicating he is pushing for a closed-door session with lawmakers.

A slim majority of voters, 52 percent, say Congress should move on to other issues now that the special counsel investigation has concluded. 

“The public wants the air to be cleared, but the poll sends some mixed messages,” said Murray. “This investigation has become so pervasive that it is seen as distracting Congress from the business of governing. The irony is that further stonewalling by the Trump administration could actually pay off in short-term political losses for the Democrats as they get bogged down in legal battles over subpoenas.”

The Monmouth University survey of 802 U.S. adults was conducted from May 16 to 20 and has a 3.5 percentage point margin of error.