A new Ipsos poll conducted for the Daily Beast polled 1000 American adults on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. See www.ipsos.com/… Approximately one-half, 49%, agree with recent assessments by former intelligence officials that Trump’s conduct at the Helsinki summit was “treasonous,” and only 27% disagree. The remaining 24% either have no opinion or are on the fence on this question.
80% of Democrats polled agree with the “treasonous” characterization, 41% of Independents, and a surprisingly high 21% of Republicans.
The same poll asked which country benefitted more from the Helsinki summit. Only 5% think that the United States benefitted more, with seven times that many, or 34%, saying Russia benefitted more. 31% were unsure, and the final 14% thought it benefitted both countries equally.
These are devastating results for Trump and the GOP. The more so because a lot of people were paying attention. 74% of U.S. adults have seen, heard, or read about the summit. More than half those polled, or 51%, believe that Russia will meddle in the Midterm Elections. On one more finding, I’ll let Ipsos speak for itself:
One in every five (19%) Americans has a favorable view of Putin. Almost a third of Republicans (30%) approve of Putin, while just 10% of Democrats hold a favorable view. Among Democrats, President Trump is equally disliked as Putin: 10% approve and 90% disapprove of the President.
The poll was conducted July 18 and 19. Here is the link to the Daily Beast’s article on the poll: www.thedailybeast.com/…
My take is that this issue is going to stick, especially to Trump apologists in Congress. This has nothing to do with impeachment, but a great deal to do with the midterms. What the public views as treasonous is extremely important. If 20% of Republicans who might otherwise vote for the GOP candidates in 2018 either vote Democratic or don’t vote, this could be the largest wave election in Congress since 1948 (a presidential year, not a midterm), when the Democrats flipped 76 seats.