NEW POLL: Voters Approve of FBI Trump Mar-a-Lago Raid More Than Disapprove – By 12 Points
L: Joe Raedle/Getty Images, R: Brandon Bell/Getty Images
More Americans approve of the FBI’s raid on former President Donald Trump‘s Mar-a-lago resort home than disapprove — by a 12-point margin.
Monday’s raid on Trump’s Florida residence has shaken up the political landscape and blotted out the sun, media coverage-wise. There has also been a public campaign to baselessly smear the FBI over the search, led by Trump and abetted by other Republicans and conservative media figures.
A new Politico/Morning Consult poll has mixed news about who is winning the messaging war.
Respondents to the poll were asked “Do you approve or disapprove of the FBI’s decision to conduct a search warrant on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida?”
Overall, 49 percent approve, while only 37 percent disapprove, with another 13 percent responding “Don’t know/no opinion.”
There’s an overwhelming partisan divide, but independents closely mirror the overall numbers at 47% to 33%.
Similarly, respondents were asked “And do you think that this conducted search warrant on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort is primarily due to: Evidence that he committed a crime” or “Motivation to damage his political career.”
Again, 49 percent said the raid was based on “Evidence that he committed a crime” versus 39 percent who responded “Motivation to damage his political career.”
But other results from the poll are contradictory and confounding. From Playbook PM:
Question: Would you consider the FBI’s decision to conduct a search warrant on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida to be:
An abuse of power that should be investigated: 41%
An abuse of power, but it should not be investigated: 6%
Not an abuse of power: 40%
Don’t know/No opinion: 13%
And then there’s this interesting tidbit: A majority of voters believe Trump either “definitely” or “probably” broke the law while he was president.
However, the “abuse of power” result is heavily influenced by partisanship. A majority of Democrats (62% to 30%) and a plurality of independents (42% to 39%) say the raid was not an abuse of power.
