(The Hill) - A majority of Americans are displeased with President Trump over his decision to pardon nearly all of those charged for their role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, according to a new poll.
The Washington Post/Ipsos survey, released Thursday, found that 83 percent of respondents were opposed to Trump’s offer of clemency for violent criminal offenders. Roughly 55 percent said the same about pardons for rioters convicted of nonviolent crimes. Another 14 percent had the opposite view, supporting the president, while 3 percent chose not to answer.
The numbers indicate an uptick in disapproval for the move after a Reuters/Ipsos poll from last month found that 58 percent of Americans were not in favor of the president pardoning the insurrectionists.
The latest poll also shows that more than half of Americans also do not approve of Trump's handling of the economy or his management of the federal government. The sentiment comes as the administration has made moves to cut down the federal workforce and curb spending — including layoffs in agencies across the government.
Roughly 53 percent of people said they disapprove of the president's handling of the economy, while 45 percent approved and 2 percent had no opinion. Another 54 percent said they disliked his management of the federal government, while 44 percent said they favor his leadership style and 2 percent shared no opinion, according to the survey.
Respondents also signaled they wanted Democrats to control Congress in the next session in order to act as a check to the president.
The survey reflected that at least 54 percent of Americans wanted more Democrats in office, 41 percent wanted Republicans who support Trump’s agenda and 5 percent did not respond or skipped the question.
The Washington Post/Ipsos poll was conducted from Feb. 13-18 among 2,601 U.S. participants. It has a margin of sampling error of about 2.1 percentage points.