Most Americans believe Trump should have been convicted by senate, post-impeachment poll finds

Poll reveals Americans still bitterly divided along partisan lines after impeachment trial

Trump Impeachment (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

A majority of Americans believe Donald Trump should have been convicted in his second senate impeachment trial, according to a survey taken after its conclusion.

Some 58 per cent believe Mr Trump should have been found guilty, the ABC News/Ipsos poll found.  Sixty-one per cent said the charges against him were serious enough for his impeachment and trial.

A guilty verdict for the former president would have required 17 Republican senators joining Democrats in voting to convict Mr Trump for his role in provoking the storming of the US Capitol on 6 January. At the conclusion of the trial, just seven Republicans chose to convict on the charges of inciting insurrection.

Many cited the argument made by Mr Trump’s lawyers that it was unconstitutional to impeach a president after he has left office. Mitch McConnell, Republican minority leader, was one of those who voted to acquit, but he went on to admonish Mr Trump for a “disgraceful dereliction of duty” in a speech.

“There is no question — none — that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day,” he said. “The leader of the free world cannot spend weeks thundering that shadowy forces are stealing our country and then feign surprise when people believe him and do reckless things.”

The attack on the US Capitol in January sparked a wave of condemnation for Mr Trump, who had spoken to and directed the crowd to “fight like hell” and “stop the steal” as electoral college votes were being tallied in the building.

Mr Trump, who has absconded to his private club in Florida, showed little remorse after the verdict was delivered. In a statement, he called the trial “yet another phase of the greatest witch hunt in the history of our country.”

The survey showed that the senate trial has done little to repair the divisions between Americans on the issue of Trump’s presidency. While 88 per cent of Democrats and 64 per cent of independents believed Trump should have been convicted, just 14 per cent of Republicans agree.

The numbers also remain largely unchanged from a survey taken before the trial, when 56 per cent of Americans supported convicting Mr Trump.

The poll was based on a nationally representative probability sample of 547 adults, and conducted in English and Spanish.