American voters tend to trust former FBI Director James Comey more than President Donald Trump after Comey testified before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence last Thursday, a new poll finds.
But a majority believe that Comey’s decision to leak memos about his interactions with Trump was inappropriate, according to a new Politico/Morning Consult poll.
The poll shows that 45 percent of voters approve of Trump’s performance, while 50 percent disapprove.
This is relatively consistent with other polls that show that the president’s job approval remains low. Eighty-one percent of GOP voters approve of his performance, but only 16 percent of Democrats do.
Fifty-one percent of voters said that they watched Comey’s testimony, and the poll showed that 45 percent of voters said that they trusted Comey to tell the truth more than Trump, who had more trust with 35 percent of voters, while 23 percent had no opinion. In addition, 53 percent said that they believed that Comey is very or somewhat honest.
While 43 percent said that Comey’s testimony hurt Trump, 23 said it helped the president. In addition, 35 percent said they did not know or had no opinion.
“James Comey’s Senate testimony was a massive political event,” said Morning Consult co-founder and chief research officer Kyle Dropp. “However, initial polling indicates that it didn’t swing public opinion one way or another. Views on why Comey was fired and whether it was appropriate have remained largely stable in the days following his testimony.”
Following the hearing on whether Trump acted appropriately in firing Comey last month, 37 percent say it was “appropriate” for Trump to fire Comey, while 44 percent say it was “inappropriate.”
Trump’s actions have been attempted to be excused by House Speaker Paul Ryan, who said that Trump was “new at government” and “not steeped in the long-running protocols that establish the relationships between [the Department of Justice], and FBI and White Houses.”
However, the poll shows that the voters do not justify Trump’s inexperience with his behaviors. Fifty-four percent agreed that “the job of the presidents demands immediate ability to perform all functions. President Trump should not be excused for behavior because he is a political newcomer.”
Forty-seven percent of voters believed that Comey’s firing was meant to hinder the Flynn investigation, while 36 percent say it is because Trump was correct in that Comey was no longer fit to serve as FBI director.
In regards to Comey’s decision ask a friend to leak information to the press about the memos her wrote regarding his conversations with Trump, 54 percent of voters believed that it was inappropriate for Comey to do so, and 26 percent said that is was appropriate.
Comey’s testimony brought forth potential evidence that could be used in the case of an impeachment. When asked whether Congress should or should not begin impeachment proceedings to remove President Trump from office, 48 percent said no, while 39 percent agreed, and 13 percent did not know or had no opinion.
The online poll was conducted June 8-12, and surveyed 1,990 registered American voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.