Majority says Trump improperly used his office to gain political advantage: poll

A majority of Americans believe President Trump has improperly leveraged his office for political advantage, according to a new CNN poll.

The poll found 53 percent said they think that Trump had used his office improperly, up from 49 percent in October, and 56 percent said Trump’s attempts to persuade Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter was more for personal benefit than to root out corruption.

{mosads}The survey, taken after the first two weeks of public impeachment hearings, also found that half of Americans believe Trump should be impeached and removed from office, with 43 percent opposed. A plurality of independents within the margin of error supported removal, at 47 percent, compared to 45 percent opposed.

The poll found a statistical tie between those who think there is currently enough evidence to impeach the president, at 48 percent to 47 percent. Fifty-two percent said Democrats have properly exercised their power during the inquiry, compared to 40 percent who said they have abused them.

A plurality of Americans, 41 percent, said congressional Republicans are doing an appropriate amount to defend Trump, compared to 33 percent who said they are doing too much and 17 percent who said they were doing too little.

A larger minority of Republicans, 24 percent, said they were doing too little, compared to 64 percent who said they were doing the right amount.

The poll was conducted Nov. 21-Nov. 24 through landlines and cellphones among a random national sample of 1,0007 adults. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.