Support for impeachment inquiry reaches new high: poll

Support for the impeachment inquiry into President Trump has reached a new high, a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday found.

Pollsters discovered that 55 percent of respondents approved of the inquiry, while 43 percent opposed it. Last week, 51 percent supported it while 45 percent did not.  

{mosads}Democrats, at 93 percent, overwhelmingly support the inquiry in the new poll, as do a majority of independents — 58 percent. Almost 9 in 10 Republicans — 88 percent — disapproved. Support jumped 8 points among independents, pollsters noted, adding that more Democrats and Republicans also said in the new survey that they back the inquiry. 

Almost half of all respondents — 48 percent — backed impeachment and removal of Trump, up 2 percentage points from last week. Forty-six percent said they are now against impeaching and removing him.

Support for removing the president was highest among Democrat respondents at 86 percent, compared to 49 percent of independents. Ninety-one percent of Republicans said they are against removing the president from office.

The president’s approval rating also dipped under 40 percent for the first time since the inquiry began, with 38 percent approving of his performance and 58 percent disapproving. Trump’s approval stands the lowest net rating since July 2018, Quinnipiac noted. 

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) initiated the president’s impeachment inquiry last month after a whistleblower report surfaced detailing a call Trump had with the Ukrainian president, in which he pressured the foreign leader to look into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son. No evidence of wrongdoing by the Bidens has surfaced.

The new Quinnipiac University poll surveyed 1,587 people between Oct. 17 and 21 and had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.