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Poll: 58% now approve of Trump impeachment inquiry

The new Washington Post poll shows a 21% increase in support of impeachment. In addition, 49% think the House should vote to remove Trump from office.
Credit: AP
President Donald Trump talks to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, Oct. 4, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Fifty-eight percent of Americans now support the House's impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, according to a new Washington Post - Schar School poll released Tuesday, and nearly half now say the House should vote on his removal from office.

The support of impeachment proceedings is up 21% from a similar poll in July.

Asked if Congress should have started the inquiry, 58% of respondents in Tuesday's results agreed, with 43% saying they believed so "strongly." Thirty-eight percent said it should not have started it, with 29% believing it "strongly."

The Post reports that support for the inquiry has risen 25 points among Democrats, 21 points among Republicans and 20 points among independents since the July poll.

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In addition, 49% overall say the House should call for Trump to be removed from office.

The impeachment inquiry began two weeks ago after a whistleblower complaint led to the revelation of a July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukranian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy in which Trump asked Zelenskiy to look into former Vice President Joe Biden -- his potential opponent in the 2020 general election -- and Biden's son, Hunter.

Sixty-two percent of those polled said it wasn't appropriate for Trump to make that request while 32% said it was.

Sixty percent said they do not think Trump upholds adequate standards for ethics in government, but 35% say he does. By comparison, 47% said Joe Biden would uphold those standards if he were president while 38% said he would not.

Other findings of the poll:

  • Americans are fairly split on how Democrats are handling the impeachment inquiry: 49% approve, 44% disapprove.
  • Republicans get a 33% approval rating of their handling of the probe while 56% disapprove.
  • 61% say Democrats are making a necessary stand against Trump's actions while 35% say that's not the case.
  • 53% say Democrats are acting to uphold their Constitutional duties. 42% disagree.
  • 50% say this is distracting Congress from more important issues compared to 46% who say it isn't.
  • 41% say Democrats are overreacting. 55% say they aren't.

Self-described independents made up the largest number of those polled (44%). They were followed by Democrats (30%) and Republicans (25%).

The Schar School of Policy and Government is located at George Mason University.

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