After Capitol assault, public opinion shifts toward Trump鈥檚 removal
When a mob pushed its way violently into the U.S. Capitol last week, drawn to Washington by President Donald Trump鈥檚 unfounded claims of a stolen election, the events evoked a strong shift in public opinion.聽
Several polls show a majority of Americans 鈥� though notably, not of Republicans 鈥� saying the president should be removed from office or resign before the scheduled end of his term on Jan. 20 鈥� a stunning rebuke.
鈥淎 weighted average of [13 new] polls, accounting for their quality, recency and sample size, finds that 52 percent of Americans support Trump鈥檚 ouster, while only 42 percent oppose it,鈥� on Monday for the number-crunching website FiveThirtyEight.聽
Why We Wrote This
A significant change in attitudes is visible after rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol last week. Partisan divides persist, but polls show a rebuke to President Trump 鈥� and deep bipartisan concern for the health of democracy.
Support for removing Mr. Trump when the U.S. House impeached him 13 months ago stood around 47% in FiveThirtyEight鈥檚 .
For comparison, 57% of Americans thought President Richard Nixon should be removed from office at the time he resigned in 1974 in the wake of the , according to Gallup polling.聽
Public opinion will continue to evolve. And voters are split on whether they consider what happened at the U.S. Capitol a coup attempt. In a , 47% of registered voters say yes, while 43% say no.聽
But the poll found near unanimity (91% to 6%) for holding those who stormed the Capitol accountable for their actions. And 3 in 4 see American democracy as 鈥渦nder threat.鈥�
ABC News/Ipsos poll; PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, Quinnipiac University poll
