Reuters/Ipsos Core Political Survey: Impeachment Tracker (01/08/2020)

Washington, DC, January 8, 2020 —  As Washington, DC greets 2020, the Reuters/Ipsos Core Political survey dove into views of the Trump impeachment. Americans are fairly split on the issue - a majority of Americans believe that Trump is guilty of abusing the office of the president (55%) and obstructing Congress (53%). This includes a majority of registered voters (55% and 54% respectively). Republican registered voters are not convinced of Trump's guilt, with fewer than 2 in 10 saying he is guilty of either charge (16% and 15% respectively). Two in five Americans believe that President Trump should be removed from office following a Senate trial (43%), a third believe the charges against the president should be dismissed entirely (32%), and 13% report that the President should be censured by the Senate, but not removed from office. Nearly half of Republican registered voters report that the impeachment of President Trump has made them more supportive of him (47%), compared to 6% who said it has made them less supportive, and 45% who said there was no impact in their level of support for the president. A majority of Americans report that impeachment has not impacted their support of the president (55%).  

With regards to how the proceedings were managed, about two in five Americans report they approve of the House of Representatives’ handling of the impeachment of President Trump (41%) and a similar number approve President's Trump's handling of his impeachment (38%). Perceptions of either party's handling of the impeachment falls along party lines with 66% of Democratic registered voters approving the House's handling of the process compared to just 14% of Republican registered voters. Three in four Republican registered voters (74%) approve of the way Trump has been handling the impeachment, compared to just 12% of Democratic registered voters who approve.  

Following the impeachment vote and the order of a drone strike that killed a top-ranking Iranian military official, President Trump's approval rating remains unchanged from mid-December 2019, with 41% of Americans approving of Trump's job performance. Like perceptions on impeachment, views on the president’s performance in office are drawn along partisan lines. Eighty-eight percent of Republican registered voters approve of Trump, compared to just 10% of Democratic registered voters. While 88% of Democratic registered voters disapprove of Trump, and just 11% of Republican registered voters feel the same. When looking at specific policies, just 38% of Americans approve of President Trump's handling of Iran, and 53% disapprove. Just 9% of Democratic registered voters of approve of his handling of Iran, compared to 82% of Republican registered voters.   

When asked about the top problems facing the country, Americans remain split on the biggest problems. Among all Americans, war and foreign conflicts rose 11 points to 13% as the biggest problem facing the country this week. Terrorism and terrorist attacks rose 4 points to 10%. Together, concerns of terrorism and war make up the biggest concern for the American public at this time (22%). Healthcare is also high on the list for 17% of Americans, followed by 13% who are concerned with the economy and jobs. Democratic registered voters are most concerned with healthcare (25%), followed by the war and foreign conflict (14%) and the environment (14%). The economy and jobs (13%) are also a concern for Democratic registered voters. Republican registered voters are concerned with immigration (27%), terrorism (14%) and healthcare (11%) and morality (11%).  

Approximately one in three Americans (29%) perceive the country as headed in the right direction, while 56% say the country is headed on the wrong track. Democratic registered voters are much more pessimistic about the direction of the country, with just 9% reporting they feel the country is headed in the right direction. On the other hand, Republican registered voters are more likely to be optimistic, with 63% saying that things in America are headed in the right direction.  

About the Study

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between January 6-7, 2020 on behalf of Thomson Reuters. For this survey, a sample of 1,115 adults age 18+ from the continental U.S., Alaska and Hawaii were interviewed online in English. The sample includes 957 registered voters, 442 Democratic registered voters, 381 Republican registered voters, and 92 independent registered voters. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 3.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Americans been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error. The poll also has a credibility interval ± 3.6 percentage points for registered voters, ± 5.3 percentage points for Democratic registered voters, ± 5.7 percentage points for Republican registered voters, and ± 11.6 percentage points for independent registered voters.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Chris Jackson
Vice President, US
Public Affairs
+1 202 420-2025
[email protected]

Kate Silverstein
Media Relations, US
Public Affairs
+1 718 755-8829
[email protected]

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