Poll: Michigan majority still rejects Trump impeachment

Michigan voters continue to oppose the impeachment and removal of President Donald Trump, but opposition has slipped slightly since last year, according to a new poll. 

Likely general election voters opposed impeachment 51% to 44%, a slight decrease from a May 2019 survey when voters opposed impeachment 53% to 40%, according to a Jan. 3-7 poll of 600 voters by Glengariff Group that was provided to The Detroit News.

More poll results:

Biden, Bloomberg hold largest leads over Trump in Michigan

U.S. Sen. Gary Peters maintains small lead over GOP challenger John James 

The 2 percentage point drop falls within the January poll's margin of error of plus-minus 4 percentage points. 

About 42% strongly opposed Trump's impeachment and 35% strongly supported it, said Richard Czuba, founder of the Lansing-based Glengariff Group.

The opposition seems to indicate that voters would prefer to decide the fate of the president instead of Congress, he said.

"We'll take care of it," Czuba said of voters' sentiment regarding impeachment. "We'll make the decision in November."

But opposition to ousting Trump from office doesn't mean voters approved of Trump's actions toward Ukraine or will help him in November.

The president is alleged to have threatened to withhold U.S. aid to the country in exchange for an investigation into Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, who was on the board of a Ukrainian energy company despite having no experience in the energy industry.

The House's impeachment of Trump was linked to his July phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Trump has argued he didn't pressure the newly elected Ukrainian leader and was only seeking a probe into corruption in the country.

By 50% to 34%, likely Michigan voters said the president's behavior was inappropriate or wrong. Half of voters also said the president's actions toward Ukraine were not in the best interest of the United States, while 39% disagreed.   

They were more split on whether Trump's actions were illegal, saying they were 41%-38%.

“This was not a positive in any way for the president,” Czuba said of the results. 

The polling results come after Democratic U.S. Reps. Haley Stevens of Rochester Hills and Elissa Slotkin of Holly supported the impeachment inquiry and impeachment despite opposition in their Republican-leaning districts.

The Republican National Committee and a GOP group have run television attack ads against Slotkin and Stevens in the Metro Detroit market. A Democratic group with close ties to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, has run ads defending Slotkin and Stevens, while other groups have run commercials lauding their stances on drug prices and other issues. 

Slotkin has defended her votes to impeach on "abuse of power" and "obstruction of Congress," arguing that they were "bigger than politics" and based on "personal integrity."

Stevens said "the facts are clear" that Trump abused his powers and "deliberately obstructed the congressional investigation into this abuse."

Pelosi has refused to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate unless she is assured of "fair trial" rules. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, has criticized Pelosi's delay, saying the Senate has the sole authority to set the trial rules.

eleblanc@detroitnews.com 

Staff Writer Craig Mauger contributed

Mich. voters reject impeachment

Likely Michigan voters remained opposed to impeaching President Donald Trump and ousting him from office.

Oppose: 51%

Support: 44%

Don’t know: 5%

Jan. 3-7 poll of 600 likely Michigan voters. Margin of error is plus-minus 4 percentage points.

Source: Glengariff Group

Were Trump’s actions wrong?

A majority of voters said President Donald Trump’s actions toward Ukraine requesting an investigation into Vice President Joe Biden were inappropriate or wrong.

Wrong: 50%

Right: 34%

Don’t know: 16%

Jan. 3-7 poll of 600 likely Michigan voters. Margin of error is plus-minus 4 percentage points.

Source: Glengariff Group