Reuters/Jorge Silva
- A recent poll reveals that a majority of Trump voters wouldn’t care even if the Trump campaign’s collusion with Russia is proven true.
- Surveys also show that a majority of respondents believe the Trump-Russia collusion accusations.
- The left-leaning Public Policy Polling surveyed 862 voters, although it should be noted that 43% of respondents were democrats while just 33% were republicans.
A majority of President Donald Trump’s supporters believe he should continue to serve as president even if it’s proven that he conspired with Russia to sway the 2016 election, according to a recent survey conducted by the left-leaning Public Policy Polling (PPP).
Just 14% of Trump voters said he should resign in the event that special counsel Robert Mueller or the congressional intelligence committees find that he colluded with Russia. On the other hand, 77% of Trump voters believe he should remain in office if the collusion claims are proven true. When Democrats and independent voters were factored into the results, 37% of respondents said they believed Trump should stay in office if he colluded with Russia.
The survey also found that 52% of respondents believe members of Trump’s campaign team worked with Russia to help him clinch the presidency. The results were split along partisan lines: while 86% of those who voted for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton believe the Trump-Russia allegations, just 13% of Trump voters do.
These polls come as special counsel Robert Mueller continues the FBI investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, including whether members of Trump’s campaign colluded with Moscow to tilt the election in his favor. Mueller is also looking into whether Trump sought to obstruct justice when he fired FBI director James Comey in May.
So far, the special counsel’s office has charged four individuals in Trump’s orbit in connection to the Russia investigation: former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, former adviser and Manafort associate Rick Gates, early foreign-policy adviser George Papadopoulos, and former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Trump has repeatedly denied colluding with Russia and called Mueller’s probe a “Democrat hoax.” When reporters asked Trump on Friday whether he would consider pardoning Flynn, who was charged on December 1 with one count of making false statements to investigators about his Russian contacts, Trump replied cryptically.
“I don’t want to talk about pardons for Michael Flynn yet. We’ll see what happens. Let’s see,” Trump said. “I can say this: When you look at what’s gone on with the FBI and Justice Department, people are very, very angry.”
PPP surveyed 862 registered voters earlier this week on a range of issues including voters’ thoughts on the Trump-Russia investigation, the president’s job performance, sexual harassment allegations, and fake news. The surveys sampled 43% democrats, 33% republicans, and 24% independents.
