Impeachment not affects Trump's approval rate: Poll

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) - Despite U.S. President Donald Trump's impeachment proceedings currently underway in the House of Representatives, his job approval rating statistically does not get affected and remains where it has been for weeks, according to a poll.

Consulting company Gallup International's survey, published on Wednesday, revealed that the impeachment hearings in Congress do not have a noticeable impact on presidential approval.

Trump's approval rate has risen back to 43%, the number which he had in mid-September, just before news outlets began to report that a whistleblower complaint had been filed regarding a call between Trump and the Ukrainian president.

"On the question of whether Trump should be impeached and removed from office, 48% of Americans say yes while 50% say no, a rate statistically unchanged since mid-October when Gallup last asked the question," the company said in the survey fielded Nov. 1-14.

Trump also secured approval of his fellow Republicans with 90% during the impeachment inquiry.

Handling of the economy remains the president's strongest area with 57% approval, improving from his prior two readings -- 50% in May and 53% in August.

The poll shows that while four in 10 Americans approve of how the president handles foreign affairs and healthcare policy, 46% are satisfied with his position on guns and 40% on foreign affairs.

But Trump gets the lowest ratings on handling the situation on Syria, where 36% of Americans approve and 57% disapprove, said the Gallup survey.

Gallup results are based on telephone interviews conducted on Nov. 1-14, with a random sample of 1,015 adults living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

Democrats in the House of Representatives opened an impeachment inquiry into Trump on Sept. 24 following claims by a whistle-blower that the president tried to pressure Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 presidential elections.

In a July 25 telephone call, Trump allegedly made some $400 million military aid contingent on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky launching a probe into Biden, and his son, Hunter, a businessman, over corruption allegations.

According to Marquette Law School poll released on Wednesday, Trump also topped Democratic presidential hopefuls in Wisconsin, one of the critical states for the 2020 White House competition.

The Hill reported that Former Vice President Joe Biden, Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and South Bend, Mayor Pete Buttigieg all trail the president in Wisconsin, where all of these candidates -- except Buttigieg -- beat Trump last month.

Trump topped Biden, 47% to 44%, while holding a 3-point edge over Sanders in Wisconsin, 48% to 45%.

The president's lead is wider against Warren, 48% to 43%, and Buttigieg, 47% to 39%.

Wisconsin, along with Michigan and Pennsylvania states, brought Trump the presidential office in the 2016 elections, and it is Democrats' primary goal for the approaching elections.

The Marquette Law School poll surveyed 801 registered voters in Wisconsin on Nov. 13-17.