President Joe Biden has been laughing off questions about his improper taking of classified documents after leaving the vice presidency in 2017, but most believe it was wrong, and a supermajority back the Justice Department’s investigation into his actions.
A whopping 76% said in a just-released Economist/YouGov survey that they support the department’s special investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents found in a Washington-based think tank and his Wilmington, Delaware, home.
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That’s even higher than the 64% who back the Justice Department’s special investigation into former President Donald Trump’s decision to take classified information when he left the White House in 2021.
Trump on Wednesday excused his actions by saying he wanted to take with him some “cool” keepsakes. Included in some of the documents were letters written to him by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Biden, meanwhile, has not fully revealed all that he took and has at times said he was surprised to hear that his house, garage, and Washington office kept classified documents from the Obama era. On Tuesday, he smirked and refused to answer questions about his actions.
The public appears a bit mixed or confused in how it views the scandal. More people think presidents take classified documents with them when leaving office, but they don’t like it and support rules barring it, according to data from the Economist/YouGov poll. The numbers released on Wednesday were so fresh that the polling outfit has yet to post any analysis.
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The new polling shows that the public views the actions of Biden and Trump similarly despite efforts by Biden’s media allies to portray Trump’s as far worse and more deserving of punishment.
For example, 40% said the cases are “about the same,” and 43% said one was worse. Among that 43%, 28% said Trump’s case “was a more serious offense” versus 15% for Biden, and 17% were not sure.
