Support for convicting Trump is higher now than during his first impeachment
The Senate is likely to acquit him anyway
The Senate today begins its second impeachment trial for former president Donald Trump, this time accused by the House of Representatives of inciting an insurrection against the government.
In a representative democracy like ours, it is fitting to ask: what do the people want their legislators to do? Convict, or acquit?
The latest polling data from Gallup shows that 52% of Americans want the Senate to convict the president. 45% are opposed. This is a big increase over the last trial; the seven-point margin in favor of conviction now contrasts with a five-point margin against during Trump’s first trial, as shown below:
It is worth noting that these numbers differ from other polling. FiveThirtyEight’s average of impeachment polls in 2020 showed that, by 50% to 45%, a clear plurality of voters wanted Trump convicted of the charges:
