DEMS/IMPEACHMENT/POLLS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “House Democrats insist they are leading an impeachment inquiry into President Trump for one simple reason: His actions have left them no other choice. The president and his Republican allies argue that the inquiry is just an attempt to tear him down — ‘an illegitimate sham partisan process,’ as the White House press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, put it on Wednesday [11-27-19]. But with the first round of public hearings wrapped up and another scheduled for Wednesday, which message is sticking across the country? Even more than with most issues, opinions on impeachment divide along partisan lines. While public opinion has fluctuated some since House leaders announced the impeachment inquiry two months ago, overwhelming majorities of Democratic and Republican voters continue to line up behind their respective parties. As a result, support for or opposition to impeachment rarely climbs much higher than 50 percent in any poll. (The impeachment inquiry itself is slightly more popular: By a margin of 5 to 10 percentage points, Americans tend to tell pollsters that starting the inquiry was a good idea.)”
–Giovanni Russonello, “With Impeachment Inquiry in Full Swing, Public Opinion Remains Split,” The New York Times online, November 29, 2019