Though Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee have held several rounds of televised witness testimonies with regard to President Donald Trump ‘s ongoing impeachment investigation, a new poll revealed that his approval rating has slightly increased.
According to The Hill , a Gallup poll made public today showed that 43 percent of those surveyed approved of the president, which marked a two-point increase over an October iteration of the same approval rating survey. Even better news for the president, his disapproval rating ticked down three points to 54 percent.
It should be noted that the Gallup survey was completed before a majority of the witnesses offered their public testimony on the matter, as it was conducted within the first two weeks of November, which only included testimony from William Taylor and George Kent.
Trump’s latest approval rating number echoes the results he was polling at in September, before House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry. Pelosi’s push came in the wake of a report by an anonymous whistleblower from the U.S. intelligence community who filed a complaint alleging that the president initiated a quid pro quo exchange in a July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The poll, which surveyed 1,015 people, also offered insights into the American voting public’s opinion on whether or not Trump should be impeached and removed from the White House. A total of 48 percent of respondents said they approved of both outcomes, while 50 percent said that they were against impeaching and removing him.
On the partisan front, only four percent of Democrats approved of Trump’s performance as president, while Republican support came in strong at 90 percent. Independents — a highly sought-after voting bloc by both Republicans and Democrats — came in with 38 percent of them supporting the president.
The poll came on the same day U.S Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland kicked off the day’s live testimony with an opening statement that quickly made headlines, according to The Inquisitr .
“Mr. Giuliani’s requests were a quid pro quo for arranging a White House visit,” Sondland told the House Intel Committee. “Mr. Giuliani demanded that Ukraine make a public statement announcing investigations.”
Sondland was the first witness to make clear that a quid pro quo took place between the United States and Ukraine. The deal allegedly involved a desperately needed military-aid package worth nearly $400 million to assist Ukraine in their ongoing conflict with Russia in exchange for Ukrainian government officials opening an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden.
“Mr. Giuliani was expressing the desires of the President of the United States, and we knew that these investigations were important to the President,” Sondland said.