President Donald Trump may insist that is phone call with Ukraine was “perfect,” but most Americans clearly don’t believe him because 51 percent now think he should be removed from office at the conclusion of the Senate impeachment trial according to a new CNN poll.
The Senate trial is turning out to be a joke as Republicans continue to tilt the proceedings in Trump’s favor by refusing to call witnesses and restrict media coverage to prevent Americans from following along.
Trump has been charged by two articles of impeachment of abusing his power and obstructing Congress as part of his Ukraine extortion scandal that has only worsened as more evidence comes to light.
It’s so bad for Trump that the percentage who support impeachment has risen from 45 percent in December to 51 percent as of Monday.
That’s right, a new CNN poll fund that just over half of Americans believe Trump should be removed.
What’s more, Americans approve of the way Democrats have handled impeachment more than they approve of the way Trump and Republicans have handled it thus far, with only 39 percent approving of the way Republicans have handled it and 38 approving of Trump’s handling of it. By contrast, Democrats have an approval of 46 percent, which is up since previous polls.
And Republicans had better be paying attention to the poll numbers because a whopping 69 percent of Americans favor hearing witness testimony during the Senate trial.
If that’s not bad enough for the GOP, it turns out their effort to rig the Senate trial is being watched as 74 percent of Americans say they are closely following the proceedings and only eight percent are not bothering to watch at all. In short, Senate Republicans are rigging the trial as America witnesses their cover-up.
And even many Republicans appear to agree that Trump violated the law as 58 percent of Americans agree that Trump abused his power and 57 percent agree that he obstructed Congress.
These are terrible numbers for Trump and Republicans as the 2020 Election approaches. Republicans are only hurting their own re-election chances by trying to rush the trial to a speedy acquittal or dismissal without considering the evidence or hearing witness testimony.
The numbers are also damning for Trump as more Americans approve of him being removed via impeachment than approve of his job performance, a number which currently stands at 43 percent.
Both Trump and Republicans should be alarmed as even former President Bill Clinton’s impeachment did not even get close to the 50 percent approval mark back in 1999.
Clearly, rigging the trial and turning it into a circus is a bad idea, and if Republicans remain on this path they could be in for a world of hurt in November because it will be hard to spin their actions when most Americans were paying attention.
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