Trump Approval Rating Rises 6 Points Higher Than When Impeachment Inquiry Began
President Donald Trump’s approval rating is near its highest of his time in office and has risen 6 percentage points since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced an impeachment inquiry against him in September.
A Gallup survey released Wednesday, the day the House is slated to vote on impeachment, shows Trump with a 45 percent approval rating, just one point shy of his highest mark ever registered with the polling firm.
Meanwhile, support for impeachment is currently underwater, with 46 percent backing impeachment and removal from office, and 51 percent opposing the move. The latter figure is up 5 percentage points since Pelosi opened the formal inquiry into Trump.
The shift in the impeachment numbers reflects a decline in support among independents.
A majority of independents polled, 55 percent, approved of impeachment and removal in October, but that number fell to 48 percent in the most recent survey.
Gallup noted that Trump’s approval rating has increased in each of its last three polls.
Not surprisingly, his support is highest among Republicans, at 89 percent. Forty-two percent of independents approve of his performance, up from 34 percent at the start of the impeachment proceedings.
Just 8 percent of Democrats polled said they approve of Trump’s job performance.
The Gallup survey was conducted from Dec. 2 to 15 among 1,025 American adults, with a margin of error of plus- or minus-4 percentage points.
The political data analysis site FiveThirtyEight found Trump’s average approval rating at its highest mark since March 16, 2017, at 43.3 percent.
Trump is coming off some big wins last week, including the announcement the House would vote on the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. The president also announced phase one of a trade deal with China. Both pieces of news helped send the stock market indices to record highs.
The overall economy remains strong, with low unemployment numbers not seen since 1969.
CNN’s editor at large Chris Cillizza, who has been a harsh critic of the president, wrote an op-ed published Wednesday titled, “Warning lights are flashing for Democrats as they prepare to impeach Trump.”
He cited Gallup’s survey and other polls showing support for impeachment flagging and the president’s approval rising.
Cillizza noted CNN’s own poll released on Tuesday showed support for impeachment at 45 percent, down from 50 percent in mid-November.
A CNN “Poll of Polls” — an average of the six most recent national polls conducted from December 4 to 15 — showed 46 percent favor impeachment and removal, while 49 percent do not.
During debate from the House floor Wednesday, Democrats continued to argue that Trump has abused him power and failed to fulfill his constitutional duty as president.
Rep. Joe Kennedy of Massachusetts said he would vote to impeach Trump because, “He broke our laws. He threatened our security. He abused the highest, most sacred office in our land.”
“Let the record show that today, justice won,” he added.
Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA) addresses his children and says today justice won. #impeachmentday pic.twitter.com/MrozLmt6mx
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) December 18, 2019
Rep. Debbie Lesko of Arizona — who serves on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Rules Committee — echoed the sentiments expressed by many of her fellow Republicans, saying the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry against Trump has been “rigged” from the start.
As a member of the Judiciary & Rules Committees, I have spent hours upon hours reading transcripts & documents, listening to testimony and in hearings. I can tell you one thing: This is the most unfair, politically biased, rigged process that I have seen in my entire life. WATCH: pic.twitter.com/wOYfIoV7Yh
— Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (@RepDLesko) December 18, 2019
“This is the most unfair, politically biased rigged process that I have seen in my entire life,” she said.
Lesko said not one of the witnesses testifying during the impeachment inquiry provided evidence Trump committed an impeachable offense.
“This is the most partisan impeachment in the history of the United States,” the congresswoman said. “This is a sad day. I believe the Democrats are tearing this country apart.”
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