Axios Poll: Americans Believe Cohen, But Don't Want Impeachment

Although 64 percent of Americans believe attorney Michael Cohen's contention that President Donald Trump ordered him to make illegal payments to two women to keep them quiet about his affairs, only 44 percent want Congress to begin impeachment proceedings, according to a poll released by Axios/Survey Monkey on Tuesday.

Among independents, 66 percent believe Cohen’s allegations, but only 49 percent want Congress to start impeachment proceedings.

The survey also shows that:

• The poll tracked three key subgroups, all of which were strongly against beginning impeachment proceedings, even though the majority of each subgroup believed Cohen. Only 35 percent of “Never Hillary” independents, 36 percent of rural voters and 42 percent of suburban white women wanted impeachment proceedings to start.
• Forty-nine percent of American said Trump's campaign colluded with the Russian government to influence the 2016 presidential election, while 46 percent said it did not.
• While 56 percent of millennials and 50 percent of suburban white women said the Trump campaign colluded, only 43 percent of "Never Hillary" independents and 40 percent of rural voters thought so.

Axios concluded from the survey that since impeachment is considered so disruptive to the country, Democrats would only consider attempting it if poll numbers showed a majority of the country support the move.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the top Democratic member of the House Judiciary Committee and the one who would lead an impeachment effort, told The New Yorker earlier this year that one “should not impeach the president unless you really believe that, by the end of the process, you will have not only Democrats agreeing with you but a good fraction of the people who voted for him.”

Axios also pointed out that a danger sign for the president is that the 44 percent who want Congress to start impeachment proceedings against Trump is actually a higher percentage than wanted the same thing against Nixon following his “Saturday Night Massacre.” A majority of Americans did not seek impeachment against Nixon until just before he resigned.

The online poll was conducted by Survey Monkey between August 22 and 24 among 4,362 American adults, with a total margin of error of ±3.0 percentage points.

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