POLLS/ROBERT MUELLER/RUDY GUILIANI/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Most Americans continue to believe that the Russian effort to influence the 2016 presidential election is a serious matter that should be investigated, but the constant criticism by President Donald Trump of special counsel Robert Mueller is taking its toll, according to a CNN poll conducted by SSRS released Friday [6-22-18]. The number of Americans who approve of how Mueller is handling the investigation has dropped from 48% in March to 44% in May to just 41% now, the lowest it has been in CNN’s polling. Mueller has a lot of company; no one connected with this matter is coming out of it in a positive light. Mueller’s favorable rating is just 32%; former FBI director James Comey’s favorability is just 28%; Rudy Giuliani, one of Trump’s lawyers in the Russia investigation, is viewed favorably by only 31% of Americans…In 2016, his favorable rating was 19 points higher than his unfavorables. Now 45% have an unfavorable view of Giuliani and only 31% see him in a positive light. Negative views of Mueller don’t mean that the public is taking Trump’s side. Just 29% approve of how Trump is handling the Russia investigation. Only 35% say it is an attempt to discredit Trump’s presidency. Nearly 7-in-10 think Trump should testify under oath if Mueller requests it. Another 70% would disapprove if Trump issues himself a presidential pardon, with no majority in any demographic group. Trump has said he absolutely has the power to pardon himself but doesn’t need to.”
-Grace Sparks, “CNN Poll: Americans think Russia investigation is serious and should continue,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, June 22, 2018