Donald Trump’s approval goes UP during impeachment process and support for removing him is going down, one poll finds – but another says the nation is evenly split on his fate
- Donald Trump’s approval rating inched up to 45 per cent, according to Gallup
- The poll released Wednesday shows his standing among Americans improved by 6 per cent from the October poll taken when impeachment was just launched
- Support for impeachment and removal from office also gone down in this poll
- In October 52 per cent wanted impeachment to the 46 per cent in December
- The improvement for Trump came the same day lawmakers debated two article of impeachment on the House floor Wednesday
- A poll from The Wall Street Journal and NBC News, however, shows no change in public opinion on impeachment
- A full House vote on abuse of power and obstruction of justice is expected to be tallied by the end of Wednesday night
Donald Trump’s approval rating has improved over the course of the impeachment proceedings, a new poll revealed Wednesday as lawmakers debated the matter on the House floor.
The president’s approval reached 45 per cent in the Gallup poll conducted December 2-15, up from 39 per cent in October – just days after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the launch of the impeachment inquiry.
In the same poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points, the public support for impeachment was shown to have gone down as lawmakers continue to fight about impeachment on Capitol Hill.
In October, 52 percent of Americans said Trump should be impeached and removed from office. But in the poll conducted earlier this month, only 46 per cent said they felt the same way.
A separate poll from The Wall Street Journal/NBC News, however, shows that there was no change in the public’s support for impeachment – and shows Americans are even more split than in other polls.
The WSJ/NBC News found that 48 per cent of respondents feel Trump should be impeached and kicked out of the White House while 48 per cent also feel the president should not be impeached.
Donald Trump’s approval rating inched up in the midst of the impeachment proceedings and support for impeachment went down to 46 per cent this month from 52 per cent in October
The Gallup poll showed Trump reached 45 per cent approval from the 39 per cent approval in October – just days after impeachment was announced
This was only a few percentage points difference from October, where 49 per cent said they favored impeaching and removing Trump, with 46 per cent in opposition.
There was a margin of error of 3.27 percentage points in this poll.
The dates of the latest two polls fall within the time period the House Judiciary Committee held public hearings and debates on the allegations against Trump and voted to recommend a full House vote two articles of impeachment: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
In September and November, Trump’s approval was at 43 per cent, according to Gallup, showing an uptick both before and after the impeachment probe was launched.
Republican support for Trump remains very high throughout impeachment, with 89 per cent approval. By contrast, he holds only 8 per cent support among Democrats in the Gallup poll.
Trump’s popularity among independents matched its high this month of 42 per cent approval.
The 46 pet cent support is the highest Trump has reached in Gallup approval polls since he took office in January 2017.
The polling also shows very little change in support and opposition of impeachment and removal of Trump since the start of this year.
In January 2019, 53 per cent of respondents said Trump should not be impeached and removed from office, and this month, 51 per cent of people feel the same way.
A few other polls released this month shows that support for impeachment and removal has dropped through the Democrat hearings.
Trump maintains his denial of any wrongdoing and has dubbed the Democrat impeachment efforts a partisan ‘witch hunt.’
Wednesday lawmakers debated the articles of impeachment on the House floor and final votes are expected to be tallied by the end of the day.
From there, impeachment will be moved to the Republican-controlled Senate where the 100 members will preside over the trial.
GOP leaders have indicated the public should expect a speedy trial in the upper chamber, and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham says he will reject both the White House and Democrats’ request for witnesses.