A majority of likely voters fault Bill and Hillary Clinton for failing to appropriately handle past donations to the Clinton Foundation, according to a new poll from Suffolk University and USA Today.
Without specifically mentioning Clinton’s position as secretary of state, the poll question asked respondents if the Clintons didn’t take adequate steps to head off “conflicts of interest” in their treatment of donations. Fifty-four percent of survey takers agreed with that statement. Thirty percent responded that Hillary Clinton shouldn’t be criticized, and the rest were undecided on the issue.
A recent investigation from the Associated Press about Clinton Foundation donors who met with the former cabinet official during her government service has focused a fresh round of scrutiny on the Clintons’ dealings. The AP’s report stated that at least 85 of 154 private officials with whom she held meetings while secretary of state donated or pledged commitments to her foundation totaling as much as $156 million.
The matter generated the latest knock against Clinton’s credibility—a liability that has manifested repeatedly in polling. In the Suffolk/USA Today survey, 59 percent of respondents said Clinton isn’t honest and trustworthy, a consistent finding throughout the campaign. A similar number, 61 percent, say the same of Donald Trump.
Negative assessments for the candidates are all throughout the poll, to the point that 51 percent of respondents say they’re “alarmed” about the election.
