A just-released Quinnipiac poll paints a devastating picture of President Donald Trump as a criminal and a liar who is doing a poor job leading the nation.
Nearly two out of three American voters (65%) say President Trump is dishonest. Nearly two out of three American voters (64%) also say he has committed crimes – less than one in four (24%) say he has not. The country is divided (45% to 43%) on whether Trump committed crimes in office, despite recent events including Michael Cohen's testimony which appear to prove he did.
Democrats will need to do a better job educating the public as to what constitutes a crime, and honesty. The Washington Post has detailed over 9000 lies from Donald Trump since taking office.
"A presidential candidate paying money to hide a negative story during a campaign, and not disclosing that payment, is unethical and a crime, 40 percent of voters say. Another 21 percent say it is unethical, but not a crime, and 20 percent say it is not unethical," Quinnipiac reports.
The 40 percent are correct. There is no gray area.
Half (50%) of voters believe the President's former lawyer Michael Cohen over the President, and voters approve of the Democrats' handling of Cohen's testimony (41%-36%) and disapprove (51%-25%) of the Republicans'.
Trump's job approval improved slightly from 38% approve, 57% disapprove in January to 38% approve, 55% disapprove in February.
"Cloudy and 38. The future of Donald Trump's presidency and the percentage of people who support him mirror the March weather in D.C.," Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, said in summing up the poll's results. "The answers to two survey questions deliver a double-barreled gut punch to the honesty question."
"When two-thirds of voters think you have committed a crime in your past life, and almost half of voters say it's a tossup over whether you committed a crime while in the Oval Office, confidence in your overall integrity is very shaky," Malloy also said. "Add to that, Michael Cohen, a known liar headed to the big house, has more credibility than the leader of the free world."
Despite these results, the majority of Americans remain unconvinced President Trump should be impeached.
"Congress should not begin impeachment proceedings against Trump, American voters say 59 - 35 percent," Quinnipiac reports. "But Congress should do more to investigate 'Michael Cohen's claims about President Trump's unethical and illegal behavior,' voters say 58 - 35 percent."
This article has been updated. An earlier version incorrectly said Trump's approval rating had fallen from January to February. It has not.