(CN) – Support for the impeachment of President Donald Trump has increased even as his job-approval rating remains steady, according to polling data released Tuesday.
A Monmouth University poll found 44% of Americans believe Trump should be impeached and removed from office, while 52% believe impeachment is unnecessary. These numbers mark a notable increase in support for Donald Trump’s impeachment since August, when only 35% of Americans supported impeachment and 59% did not.
These numbers come in after the U.S. House of Representatives launched an official impeachment inquiry last week, which the poll notes has captured the public’s attention. Over half of Americans say they have heard a lot about Trump’s phone call with the Ukrainian president that led to the impeachment inquiry, while another 27% say they have heard at least a little about the call. Only 21% say they have not heard of the phone call at all.
Trump’s job approval rating, however, has stayed largely consistent. The same poll reports that 41% of Americans approve of the Trump’s performance in office, while 53% disapprove. These numbers are virtually unchanged from August, when 40% of Americans said they approved of the president and 53% did not.
Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, says these numbers are bound to experience few, if any, significant changes.
“I’ve been saying this for a long time. Fundamental opinion about Donald Trump has been baked in from the very start of his presidency. Almost nothing he’s done has come as a surprise to the American public, which is why we see such little change in his job rating. The question is whether those who want Trump out of office are willing to wait until 2020 and that’s where we see a small shift,” Murray said in a statement.
Meanwhile in another contested political arena, independent voters believe Republicans should maintain control of the Senate next year. According to the Hill-HarrisX poll released Tuesday, 54% of registered independents would like the GOP to keep their Senate majority, while 46% of independents prefer the Democrats to take over.
Not surprisingly, 94% of Republicans want the Senate majority to remain in GOP control, while 92% of Democrats would like to see the Senate flipped in 2020.
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