Trump’s America: New American Journal graphic by Walter Simon

By Glynn Wilson –

Less than two weeks into Donald J. Trump’s tenure as President of the United States, already 40 percent of Americans say they want him impeached and removed from office in an unprecedented public backlash to his policies, according to a new survey just out from Public Policy Polling. Yet it is not clear this administration cares what the public thinks.

The results of this latest poll show the number of voters who want Trump impeached is up from 35 percent from last week. Only 48 percent of voters, less than a majority, say they would be opposed to Trump’s impeachment, while 12 percent remain undecided.

It seems voters are already beginning to miss President Barack Obama. The survey found that a majority of U.S. voters, 52 percent, prefered former President Obama, while only 43 percent prefer Trump with 5 percent uncertain.

“Usually, a newly elected president is at the peak of their popularity and enjoying their honeymoon after taking office,” said Dean Debnam, president of Public Policy Polling. “But Donald Trump’s making history once again with a sizeable share of voters already wanting to impeach him, and a majority of voters wishing they could have Barack Obama back.”

The survey found that 49 percent of voters disapprove of Trump’s performance since his inauguration on Jan. 20, while only 47 percent approve. In addition, overall impressions of Trump remain negative, with 52 percent viewing him unfavorably and only 45 percent viewing him favorably.

A number of major protests have punctuated the first two weeks of Trump’s presidency, including over women’s issues and Trump’s order last week denying U.S. entry to travelers and refugees from several Muslim-majority countries. Democrats and civil rights organizations have hammered Trump’s move as unconstitutional and biased against Muslims. Trump has dismissed those criticisms, arguing that the order is crucial for protecting the nation from terrorism.

Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro said on Wednesday that Congress should consider impeaching Trump if he orders federal agencies to ignore a judge’s ruling halting parts of the travel ban.

“There should be a resolution of censure,” he said. “And if he does it again, there should be articles of impeachment.”

Why are voters so disgruntled with Trump?

“Voters think basically everything he’s doing is wrong,” Debnam says.

Overall, voters are pretty evenly split on Trump’s executive order on immigration from last week, with 47 percent supporting it and 49 percent opposed. But when you get beyond the overall package, the pieces of the executive order become more clearly unpopular, with 52 percent of voters saying the order was intended to be a Muslim ban, while only 41 percent don’t think that was the intent.

The idea of a Muslim ban is extremely unpopular with the American people, with only 26 percent in favor of it and 65 percent against it.

When it comes to barring people from certain countries from entering the United States, even when those people have already secured a visa, just 39 percent of voters are supportive, while 53 percent are against it. Just 43 percent support the U.S. indefinitely suspending accepting Syrian refugees, with 48 percent opposed to that.

Finally, voters see a basic competence issue with Trump’s handling of the executive order, with only 39 percent of voters saying it was well executed, while 55 percent believe it was poorly executed.

“The attitudes of Trump voters on the issue of the order being a Muslim ban are telling,” Debnam said, with 71 percent claiming they don’t think the intent of the executive order was to ban Muslims from entering the country, to 23 percent who say that was the intent.

But then when you ask Trump voters what their feelings are on banning Muslims from the country, they support it. Forty-eight percent of Trump voters support banning Muslims from entering the country, with only 40 percent opposed.

Trump voters also continue to refuse to believe in the sincerity of those protesting him, with 48 percent saying they actually believe protesters were paid by George Soros. Only 31 percent don’t think protesters were paid.

“Trump voters thought the women’s marchers were all paid by Mr. Soros as well so clearly the Trump administration is going to be very expensive for him,” Debnam said in jest.

Negative Views of Steve Bannon

It hasn’t taken long for voters to develop a pretty dim view of Trump adviser Steve Bannon, and become wary of the extent to which he’s being given power within the administration, according to the survey. Only 19 percent of voters see Bannon favorably, while 40 percent hold a negative opinion of him.

Only 34 percent of voters approve of his being given a seat on the principals committee of the National Security Council, while 44 percent are opposed.

“What’s particularly telling is that only 19 percent of voters think Bannon belongs in that seat on the National Security Council more than the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of National Intelligence,” Debnam said. “Even Trump voters think he’s gone too far on that front.”

Voter Fraud Paranoia

Very few voters go along with Trump when it comes to his voter fraud paranoia, according to the survey. Only 26 percent of voters think millions of people voted illegally in the 2016 Presidential election, while 55 percent believe that’s bull shit.

“This is another issue where even a significant number of Trump voters become wary of his claim,” Debnam said, with 47 percent saying they believe it, while 27 percent say they don’t and 26 percent aren’t sure. “It’s been unusual to find things where a majority of Trump’s voters don’t go along with him.”

Funding for Mexico Wall

Voters continue to be very skeptical of the funding plan for the wall with Mexico, the survey found. Only 40 percent of voters are in support of building the wall if American taxpayers have to front the cost for it, while 54 percent are opposed.

And there’s similar opposition when it comes to the 20 percent tax on items imported to the U.S. from Mexico that the administration floated last week. Only 37 percent of voters support while 50 percent who are opposed.

Health Care

Obamacare continues to become more popular the more talk there is about repealing it, the survey shows, with 46 percent of voters now saying they support it to just 41 percent who are opposed. Only 33 percent of voters think the best course of action is for Congress to repeal the Affordable Care Act and start over, while 62 percent think it would be better to keep it and fix the parts that need fixing.

Trump Is Losing

Another aspect of Trump’s unpopularity is that he’s losing all of his fights, the survey found. In the last week he’s gone on the attack on Twitter against John McCain, the Washington Post, the New York Times and CNN and in each case we find voters siding with Trump’s adversary.

By a 51/37 spread voters say John McCain has more credibility than Trump.

By a 52/41 spread voters say the Washington Post has more credibility than Trump.

By a 51/42 spread voters say the New York Times has more credibility than Trump.

By a 50/42 spread voters say CNN has more credibility than Trump.

Trump’s Favorabilty Rating

Overall 47 percent of voters approve of the job Trump’s doing, while 49 percent disapprove. And 45 percent have a favorable opinion of him, while 52 percent hold a negative opinion.

“But when you dig down on the actual policies he’s pursued and actions he’s taken, the picture gets even worse for him,” Debnam says.

The National Park Service

In other results, the survey found that 68 percent of voters have a favorable opinion of the National Park Service, with only 9 percent holding an unfavorable opinion. Only 30 percent of voters approve of censoring the Park Service’s social media accounts, while 52 percent disapprove.

Even Trump voters do not support censorship of Park Service social media accounts by a wider margin than voters at large. A full 59 of Trump voters disapprove of censoring the Park Service, while only 12 percent approve.

Congress

Congress is still held in very low regard, with only 13 percent of voters saying they approve of the job Congress is doing, while 68 percent disapprove.

House Speaker Paul Ryan is suffering from a low approval rating with only 35 approving of the job he’s doing, and 43 who do not approve.

Senator Mitch McConnell’s is viewed even less favorably, with only 17 approving of the job he’s doing, compared to 55 percent who say he’d doing a lousy job.

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The survey was based on interviews with 725 registered voters and conducted via phone and online interviews Jan. 30–31. It has a margin of error of 3.6 percentage points.