Authors: Carroll Doherty, Jocelyn Kiley, Nida Asheer
Affiliation: Pew Research Center
Organization/Publisher: Pew Research Center
Date/Place: January 22, 2020, Washington.
Type of Literature: Report
Number of Pages: 27
Keywords: Impeachment, Partisanship, Trump, Trial, Removal.
Brief:
Since the impeachment trial started, more Americans say that Trump should be removed from office. Despite the slight majority of this opinion, opposing views are majorly split by partisan leanings. 51% of American adults say that the Senate trial should remove Trump from office, while 46% say that it shouldn’t. Meanwhile, 86% of Republicans say that the trial shouldn’t remove him, while 85% of Democrats believe the opposite. The partisanship extends to how confident they are in their party’s senators being fair and reasonable, while expecting the other party’s senators to not be so. Trump’s job approval remains the same with 40% approval and 58% disapproval, not changing notably throughout Trump’s presidency. Age plays a factor on opinions as well, with 56% of Americans aged 65 and older believing that Trump should remain in office, while 63% of those 30 or younger believe he should be removed. Majorities of Hispanics and Blacks also say that the trial should remove Trump, but 58% of white Americans say that the trial shouldn’t remove him. Education is also a point of difference, while nearly two-thirds of Americans without college degrees believe Trump should stay after the trial, 53% of those with a degree or higher education say that Trump should be removed. Regardless of the cited factors, 63% of Americans believe that Trump definitely or probably did illegal acts, 70% say he probably or definitely did unethical behaviors. Whereas opinions on unethical and illegal acts still are divided by partisan lines, the Republicans lean more towards denying and Democrats heavily lean towards agreeing.
By: Omar Fili, CIGA Research Intern
