By Muri Assunção
New York Daily News
Problems with the base?
A Fox News poll released this week had some surprising takeaways regarding respondents’ thoughts on the handling of the Russia investigation.
The 52-page-long survey, which was conducted by a bipartisan group of pollsters between May 11 and May 14, asked people’s opinions on a variety of subjects, such as President Donald Trump’s likability, the economy, the White House’s relationship with North Korea and the handling of the Russia investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller and by Attorney General William Barr.
The Fox News poll found that more people (50%) oppose the impeachment of the president than support it (42%). It also concluded that more people think that Mueller did a good job with the investigation than not: 46% of respondents approved how he handled it, 32% disapproved it, and 22% did not know.
No surprises there.
However, answers to a question about who might be telling the truth regarding the investigation could raise some eyebrows at the White House:
“On the Russia investigation, who do you trust more to tell the truth?” one of the questions asked. Respondents were given a choice between two key players in the investigation:
Between Trump and Mueller, 45% said they trusted the special counsel, 27% said the president, 6% said both, 16% said neither, and 6% didn’t know.
Between Mueller and Barr, 40% said they trusted the special counsel, 22% said the attorney general, 8% said both, 16% said neither, and 14% didn’t know.
Between congressional Democrats and the Trump administration, 44% said they trusted the Democrats, 33%, said the White House, 3% said both, 15% said neither, and 5% didn’t know.
When respondents were asked about how Barr handled the Mueller report, the attorney general didn’t fare so well: 44% approved, while 35% disapproved. And by an even larger margin, they were leery of Barr’s true intentions. When asked to describe Barr’s behavior, 45% said that he was “covering up for the president,” and 33% feel he is being “transparent.” Another 23% of respondents refused to answer or weren’t sure.
Another interesting takeaway that goes against Trump’s they-are-out-to-get-me defense (“no politician in history … has been treated worse or more unfairly”): 49% said that Democrats in Congress are seeking the truth for the American people, against 41% who felt they are attacking the president unfairly.
A total of 1,008 people were chosen at random for the survey, and the margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
