According to a new poll by Monmouth University Polling Institute, support to impeach Trump is higher than the anti-Nixon rhetoric at the beginning of the Watergate scandal. The poll indicated that fully 41 percent of Americans want to see Congress impeach Donald Trump and remove the unlikely POTUS from office. That number dwarfs the percentage of Americans calling for Nixon’s impeachment in July 1973.
Indeed, as the Watergate scandal began to unfold, only 24 percent of polled Americans were calling for the impeachment of Nixon, according to the New York Daily News.
Despite the disturbingly high percentage of polled Americans who now want to see lawmakers impeach Trump , Monday’s Monmouth University Polling Institute indicates that Trump’s approval rating is holding low but steady at just around 39 percent as he approaches the six month mark of his presidency.
“Even though Trump’s approval rating is similar to Nixon’s, more Americans support impeachment today than did in 1973.”
Richard Nixon, who resigned the presidency before he could be impeached over the Watergate scandal, was at a 39 percent approval rating six months into his second term as POTUS.
Monmouth University Polling Institute director Patrick Murray believes that today’s culture of widespread political partisanship and division could be, at least in part, to blame for the current high support to impeach Trump.
JUST IN: New poll finds 41 percent of Americans back Trump’s impeachment https://t.co/3wzOuDM0nF pic.twitter.com/GNmCT1rtIp
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) July 17, 2017
“That’s partly due to the current epidemic of hyper-partisanship that was simply not prevalent forty years ago.”
The current and apparently widespread demand to impeach Donald Trump appears to be closely related to the so-called “Russia scandal” which has dogged and tainted his presidency. According to the poll, most Americans – eight in 10 – have heard the recent news regarding Donald Trump Jr. and his meeting last June with a “Russian government attorney.” Of those, fully 59 percent found the meeting, allegedly arranged to root out “compromising” information regarding Trump opponent Hillary Clinton, “not appropriate.”
NATIONAL POLL:
41% say Trump should be impeached – 24% said same about Nixon at start of Watergate https://t.co/yxNVjmhhq0 pic.twitter.com/pBOI2eF16J
— MonmouthPoll (@MonmouthPoll) July 17, 2017
A solid 65 percent of those polled think that Russia “deliberately or probably” meddled (or attempted to meddle) in last year’s presidential election.
Monday’s poll, which seems to demonstrate double-digit American voter support to impeach Donald Trump, comes just days after two democratic legislators introduced articles of impeachment against the president. Last week, Texas representative Al Green and California representative Brad Sherman brought articles of impeachment against Trump, alleging obstruction of justice.
The only reason is is 41% is because no one wants Pence either!
— Spirit of Truth, illuminate all these lies! (@Sullivanandkids) July 17, 2017
https://twitter.com/Rindie62/status/886998255531311104
I raced home from high school each day to watch Nixon hearings. Trump’s admin is much more egregious. Much, much more. #impeachtrumpnow
— Tamara Birkes (@aplainswoman) July 17, 2017
The duo specifically listed the meeting of Donald Trump Jr. (and his subsequent release of related emails) as the foundation of their demand to impeach.
“Recent disclosures by Donald Trump Jr. indicate that Trump’s campaign was eager to receive assistance from Russia.”
The representatives went on to add that it is “likely” that POTUS Trump has “something to hide” regarding Russia and the ongoing investigation into his campaign’s alleged collusion with the Russian government during the 2016 election.
POLL: 41% Now Want Trump Impeached, Far More Than Those Who Called For Nixon’s Impeachment – https://t.co/83HgQRJAIt pic.twitter.com/JdQyJrsJ8V
— JoeMyGod (@JoeMyGod) July 17, 2017
“It now seems likely that the President had something to hide when he tried to curtail the investigation of National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and the wider Russian probe.”
The Monmouth University Polling Institute compared the result of Monday’s poll regarding American support to impeach Trump to the results of a June 1973 Gallup Poll that included questions about the impeachment of Richard Nixon as the Watergate scandal unfolded.
[Featured Image by Alex Brandon/AP Images]