Poll: Public overwhelmingly opposes Trump pardoning his associates
As he and his associates face increasing legal scrutiny, President Trump has publicly and privately discussed potential pardons for his former and current associates, but a new The Hill-HarrisX poll finds that Americans would overwhelmingly disapprove of such pardons.
In a Dec. 15-16 survey of 1,000 registered voters, only 28 percent agreed that it would be "proper" for Trump to pardon former aides convicted by special counsel Robert Mueller. The vast majority, 72 percent, said no.
Trump has continued to raise the idea of granting clemency to former associates, including his onetime campaign chairman, Paul Manafort. In a November interview with The New York Post, the president said that he "wouldn't take it off the table," referring to a potential pardon for Manafort.
The veteran political consultant has battled with Mueller for months after being indicted and convicted on several charges for his dealings with Russian and Ukrainian figures. Trump has repeatedly said that Manafort has been "treated unfairly" by Mueller, a phrase he has used to also describe people he has already pardoned, such as I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, a former George W. Bush adviser who was convicted by a previous special counsel investigation.
The public appears to be strongly united against Trump commuting sentences of his associates.
Seventy-six percent of women in the Hill-HarrisX survey said it would not be proper for Trump to pardon close associates, as did 67 percent of men. Strong majorities of people of every racial demographic group also disagreed with the potential move. Only 30 percent of Hispanics said such pardons would be proper, as well as just 29 percent of white respondents and 24 percent of black respondents.
https://thehill.com/hilltv/what-americas-thinking/422506-new-poll-public-overwhelmingly-opposes-trump-pardoning-close?userid=229233
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