As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, the American public is tuning out of the controversy surrounding the impeachment proceedings into President Trump, according to a new poll.
The number of Democratic voters who say they are paying close attention to the impeachment inquiry fell five percentage points to 70%, according to a report on a new survey released Monday by The Hill/HarrisX.
A mere 59% of independent voters say they are actively paying attention to the impeachment proceedings in Washington, with 64% of Republicans saying the same.
The poll results follow five days of public testimony during which a slew of foreign diplomats have told Congress what they saw, heard, or understood about Trump’s contacts with top Ukrainian officials over the last several months.
The impeachment proceedings, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, centers on a July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during which Trump pressured the foreign leader to investigate a political rival. An intelligence agency whistleblower alleged the call was a quid pro quo between the United States and Ukraine, with foreign aid being used as a bargaining chip.
Among Democrats, support for impeachment has varied across the caucus.
Democratic Rep. Brenda Lawrence, whose district lies in the crucial election battleground state of Michigan, said on Monday she favors censuring Trump instead of removing him from office.
“We are so close to an election. I will tell you, sitting here knowing how divided this country is, I don’t see the value of taking him out of office,” she said. “I do see the value of putting down a marker saying his behavior is not acceptable.”
According to polling and election predictor FiveThirtyEight, support for impeachment dropped to less than 50% among independents in November.
