Robert Mueller Testimony Failed To Sway Public Opinion, Polling Suggests
Multiple reports suggest that special counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony before House Intelligence and Judiciary committees failed to sway public opinion, according to a report from Vox.
Much like prior to the hearing, Americans remain split along party lines.
An ABC News/Ipsos poll found that opinions remain largely unchanged when it comes to impeachment, with 47 percent of surveyed Americans supporting an inquiry. Only 3 percent of Republicans said that Mueller’s testimony made them more likely to support impeachment, and 42 percent of them said that they are actually less likely to support it.
Most Democrats, as well as a majority of Republicans, said that the hearing did not change their view on impeachment in any way.
A Morning Consult poll also suggests that nothing has essentially changed with Mueller’s testimony. According to the survey, Americans are divided along party lines — 58 percent of Republicans believe Mueller completely exonerated Trump, and 62 percent of Democrats believe that he did not.
In general, as Vox pointed out, the president’s “no collusion, no obstruction” mantra perfectly summarizes how Republicans feel. The opposite is the case for Democrats. As the publication further noted, most Americans have already made up their mind about the Trump-Russia issue, so Democratic hopes of swaying public opinion have not been fulfilled.
According to a report from The Washington Post, some House Democrats regret calling Mueller to testify. During the hearing, the former FBI director appeared confused and unfamiliar with his own report, while struggling to answer questions from lawmakers.
Nadler defends Mueller testimony, but poll shows little effect https://t.co/vDzdq2v7z9 pic.twitter.com/rv6RsR20kq
— New York Post (@nypost) July 28, 2019
“It was a painful reminder that age catches up to all of us. Here you have this Vietnam hero and this post-September 11 FBI director. You could tell he was having a hard time hearing and it was like, ‘Ugh! This is not how I want him to be remembered,'” a House Democrat told the Washington Post.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and his Republican allies have embarked on an effort to shift the narrative in their favor, suggesting that Mueller’s unconvincing testimony proves what they have been claiming for months; that the Russia probe is an elaborate conspiracy orchestrated by the Democratic Party in order to unseat the president.
Congressional Democrats appear to have remained focused on the Trump-Russia issue, and other scandals involving the president, but not everyone considers this a winning strategy.
As The Inquisitr reported, some Democratic governors are casting doubt on their colleagues’ strategy, arguing that the best way to beat Trump in 2020 — and preserve the House of Representatives — is to focus on issues such as education, healthcare, and jobs. If the party remains focused on Trump, it will lose the messaging war, according to Democrats outside the beltway.
