A majority of American voters would oppose congressional efforts to impeach President Trump despite wanting lawmakers to be more of a check against his administration, according to a Quinnipiac University released Wednesday.
Voters back Democratic candidates by 14 percentage points ahead of the November midterm elections, but 56 percent of respondents simultaneously said they would not want Trump’s political opponents to launch impeachment proceedings if Democrats secure a majority in the House. A little over a third of voters — 36 percent — would back efforts to impeach the Republican president.
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The poll comes amid demands from liberal candidates and activists that House Democratic leaders pursue impeachment if the party finds itself back in control of the lower chamber this fall. For example, billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer has traveled around the country in recent months to promote impeachment, accusing prominent Democrats during his publicity tour of “normalizing” Trump by refusing to indulge efforts to oust him.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told Rolling Stone earlier this summer that discussions of impeachment were “a gift to the Republicans” during an important election year.
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“I don’t think it’s in the interest of America’s working families to focus on that, unless we have more [evidence] to go on, which we don’t at this time,” Pelosi said.
But even if Democrats secure a congressional majority and avoid impeachment, they are likely to face an uphill battle to make a positive impression on voters. The same poll found that 72 percent of Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing.
“Whoever wins, they’re going into a Congress with an abysmal approval rating,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University poll.
The survey of 1,038 registered voters was conducted from Sept. 6-9. Results contain a margin of error plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
