Support for Trump impeachment, removal grows by 10 points in a week: poll

A survey from Quinnipiac University Poll released Monday found respondents evenly split, 47 percent to 47 percent, on whether they support impeaching President Trump and removing him from office, a 10-point swing in favor of impeachment over a five-day period.

The polling firm previously found voters opposed to impeachment and removal, 57 percent to 37 percent, in a poll released Sept. 25. The shift is largely driven by increased support of impeachment among Democrats, who support it 90 percent to 5 percent in the newest poll, up from 73 percent to 21 percent last week.

{mosads}Support for impeachment and removal also increased among independents, from 34 percent (with 58 percent opposed) to 42 percent with just 50 percent opposed. Republican support was largely unchanged, with respondents 95 percent to 4 percent opposed last week and 92 percent to 7 percent opposed this week.

A majority of voters, 52 percent, said they specifically support the impeachment inquiry announced last week by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), with independents supporting it 50 percent to 45 percent.

Fifty-six percent of respondents said they think Trump believes he is above the law, compared to 42 percent who do not, while 54 percent agreed that Trump abuses the powers of his office versus 43 percent who disagreed.

On the specific topic of the impeachment inquiry, Trump’s interactions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, 50 percent of respondents said Trump has done something wrong, compared to 40 percent who said he has not. On this question, the number is higher than average among independents, who said 52 percent to 41 percent that he has.

Eighty-seven percent of those who believe Trump has done something wrong believe that he has done something seriously wrong.

“Despite the fact that the impeachment inquiry is just getting underway, half of American voters already believe that President Trump has done something wrong when it comes to his interactions with Ukraine’s leader. Of that group, there’s a virtually unanimous view he did something seriously wrong,” Quinnipiac University Polling analyst Mary Snow said.

The poll is the latest of several to show increased support for impeachment since the inquiry was announced. It was conducted among 1,115 self-identified registered voters using landlines and cell phones. It has a margin of error of 3.6 percentage points.