Will Trump Be Impeached? 40 Percent Favor The President's Removal, Poll Finds

The call for the impeachment of President Donald Trump seems to be growing by the week with 40 percent of Americans supporting the ouster of the president from his office, according to a new poll.

The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) Thursday published the results of the poll which showed a 10-point jump from February when 30 percent of Americans said they favored Trump’s impeachment. This can be attributed to growing opposition to the president from Democrats and independents, the poll said.

Almost three-quarters of the Democrats (72 percent) and 38 percent of independents backed the idea. However, only seven percent of Republicans polled in favor of his removal. Trump’s overall approval rating in the poll stood at 38 percent favorable and 56 percent unfavorable.

The survey was conducted on 2,024 Americans between Aug. 2-8, before the violent white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and Trump’s initial controversial statement about it.

His remarks on how “both sides” were to be blamed for the violence over the Aug. 12 weekend have since prompted widespread criticism by Democrats and Republicans alike. After the attacks, another daily Gallup poll on Aug. 14 said his approval ratings in the poll stood at 34 percent. Slate reported that there was a 65 percent chance that he would be removed (or remove himself) from office. The numbers also included responses of those who were polled before Charlottesville attacks.

In Thursday’s poll, 60 percent of men said Trump should not be impeached while among women 47 percent supported it, according to a report by NBC News.

The survey results also stated that about half of Americans (48 percent) — say there is clear evidence that Russia interfered in the 2016 election and supported Donald Trump, while 43 percent disagree. Reports suggest that Trump may someday regret his stepped up attacks on Republican senators.

The Senate, where there is a Republican majority, is crucial in weighing charges against him in the case of Russian meddling in the election if he is to be impeached someday. According to a recent article in Newsweek, it is likely that the president is only six Senate votes away from being impeached, with 12 Republican senators who have shown an inclination towards taking on the president when they thought he was in the wrong.

Brad Sherman (D-California) and Al Green (D-Texas) have already introduced articles of impeachment against Trump earlier in the summer. Other Democrats have called for Trump’s impeachment, with Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee), announcing Thursday that he planned to introduce more articles of impeachment in light of Trump's comments on Charlottesville.

However, many have also opposed these calls to remove Trump from office. The PRRI poll also said that 79 percent of white evangelicals opposed calls to impeach Trump. The group had largely voted for Trump during the 2016 elections. Seven in ten (70 percent) white evangelicals also said they did not see evidence of Russia’s involvement in the election. However, it is still unclear whether the president’s response to Charlottesville attacks has affected people’s opinion.