Another recent survey confirms the negative impact of the ongoing Russia investigation on the approval rating of U.S. President Donald trump. The poll by Quinnipiac University found that the only 34 percent of the 1,361 voters surveyed approved Trump, while 57 percent disapproved.
His approval rating went down 3 percent from the previous 37 percent on May 24. The latest survey was conducted from May 31 to June 6 when there was a lot of news about Trump’s tweeting behavior. It was also on the verge of the Senate Intelligence Committee testimony of ex-FBI Director James Comey who said he was pressured by Trump to drop the investigation on former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
Lowest approval rating so far
Time noted that the 34 percent approval rating that Trump got is the lowest so far the president received since he assumed the post on Jan. 20. The decline in the real estate billionaire’s rating is because of a significant number of survey respondents, 31 percent, think the president did something illegal in his Russian relationship.
While Comey, in his written statement of his Thursday testimony, confirmed that Trump was not under investigation for his Russian ties, the former FBI director also said that Trump’s campaign is under investigation. Although there is no confirmation if Trump has knowledge of his campaign staff’s move, 29 percent of the voters polled think Trump did something unethical but not illegal.
Although 32 percent of those surveyed think the president did nothing wrong, 68 percent expressed concern with Trump’s general relationship with Russia. Another 54 percent found the former “The Apprentice” host too friendly with Russia.
President’s credibility at stake
Another survey by The Washington Post/ABC News, released on Wednesday, found that 72 percent of the people surveyed had some or no trust in anything that Trump said about the Russian investigation.
The president was trying to interfere with the probe, according to 56 percent of the survey respondents.
Comey confirmed that when he said in the statement that the president asked him to drop the FBI investigation on Flynn. Trump added that Flynn did nothing wrong in talking to the Russians, The New York Daily News reported.
The poll had 527 respondents across the U.S. It was conducted on June 2-4 by telephone. The president’s support base from conservatives appears to be eroding since 60 percent of survey respondents who said they are conservatives do not trust Trump’s statements on the Russian investigation. Another 48 percent of Republicans shared the same sentiment.