Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump.
- A majority of American voters want President Donald Trump to be impeached and removed from office, according to a new Fox
News poll. - Fifty-one percent of those surveyed in the poll said they want Trump impeached and removed from office, and 4% said they want Trump to be impeached but not removed.
- Meanwhile, 40% said they oppose impeachment altogether.
- The results indicate a remarkable shift in public opinion over the last several months, as the president grapples with an escalating impeachment inquiry into whether he used his public office for private gain.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
A majority of American voters want President Donald Trump to be impeached and removed from office, according to a new poll from Fox News.
In a record high, 51% of those surveyed in the poll said they want the president impeached and removed from office, and 4% want Trump to be impeached but not removed. Meanwhile, 40% said they oppose impeachment all together.
The results indicate a remarkable shift in public opinion over the last several months, as the president continues grappling with an escalating congressional impeachment inquiry looking at whether he used his public office for private gain.
At the center of the investigation is a July 25 phone call Trump had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during which he repeatedly pressured Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son for corruption. Biden is one of the 2020 Democratic frontrunners and Trump's chief political rival.
The details of that call were outlined in an explosive whistleblower complaint a US intelligence official filed against the president in August. The official alleged in the complaint that Trump abused his power by soliciting foreign interference by the Ukrainian government in the upcoming election.
Congress released the complaint to the public last month after a fierce tug-of-war with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence over obtaining the document.
Associated Press
President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the InterContinental Barclay New York hotel during the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Trump and his allies have sought to paint the complaint as false and misleading, but much of it is corroborated by the White House's summary of the call, which Trump himself released last month. The acting director of national intelligence also testified to Congress that the memo is "in alignment" with the complaint.
The rising public support for Trump's impeachment was also reflected in a recent Washington Post/Schar School poll, in which a whopping 58% of American adults said they favor House Democrats' impeachment inquiry, and 49% said they want to see Trump removed from office.
Read more: Trump's approach to the impeachment inquiry bears a striking resemblance to how the mafia operates
Since July, Post/ABC News polling has found that support for an impeachment investigation has grown by 21 percentage points among Republicans, 25 percentage points among Democrats, and 20 percentage points among those who identify as independents.
A Quinnipiac University poll published on September 25 found that just 37% of Americans supported impeaching and removing Trump from office. In a poll published five days later, that number had jumped by 10 percentage points, to 47%.
The White House, meanwhile, is taking a page out of its Russia probe playbook as it deals with the impeachment inquiry, by refusing to cooperate with the investigation, blocking witnesses from talking to lawmakers, and refusing to turn over documents requested by Congress.
But Louis Seidman, a constitutional law professor at Georgetown University, told Insider that by obstructing the investigation, the president is giving Democrats "another ground for impeachment."
A former White House official agreed, telling Insider, "He's giving them all the ammunition they need."
Right now, the former official added, "the president needs to be doing everything he can to show he's willing to cooperate and has nothing to hide. This won't end well for him if he keeps up his combative stance."
- Read more:
- Just 30% of Americans say they oppose impeaching President Trump, according to a new Insider poll
- A former Giuliani top aide, who has known the former New York mayor for at least 26 years, says his ex-boss has become a 'right-wing conspiracy nut'
- Justice Department claims a key Watergate ruling to release secret grand jury evidence isn't relevant anymore as they seek to shield Trump impeachment
- Former Rep. Trey Gowdy has been tapped to aid Trump's legal team, despite being critical of the president in the past