Two-thirds of Americans want Trump out of public life for good

Some of the final approval ratings of Donald Trump’s controversial term in the White House are now in, and they’re none too flattering for the outgoing President.

In the wake of his role in inciting the violent insurrection on Capitol Hill last week that left five dead and dozens injured, more than two-thirds (68%) of Americans said they do not want Trump to remain a major political figure after he leaves office on Jan. 20, according to a new survey conducted by Pew Research Center.

Among the more than 5,300 U.S. adults surveyed by Pew, three-quarters (75%) said Trump bears at least some responsibility for the violence and destruction caused by his supporters on Jan. 6, with more than half (52%) saying he bears “a lot” of responsibility. That sentiment is shared by a narrow majority of Republican and Republican-leaning respondents, 52% of whom said Trump bears at least some responsibility for the insurrection—though a sizable minority (46%) said he bears no responsibility at all.

With the departing President already impeached for a historic second time, the Pew poll indicates that a majority of Americans are in agreement with Congress’s efforts to hold Trump accountable. More than half (54%) said Trump should be removed from office before Inauguration Day—though that sentiment is very much divided along partisan lines, with 83% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning respondents favoring such a measure, as opposed to only 20% Republican and Republican-leaning ones.

The survey, which was conducted from Jan. 8 to Jan. 12, also found that Trump is leaving the White House with the lowest job approval rating of his presidency (29%), with 62% of voters describing his conduct since the Nov. 3 presidential election as “poor.” Meanwhile, 64% of voters rated President-elect Joe Biden’s postelection conduct as “excellent” or “good,” and 58% of respondents said they approve of Biden’s job in explaining his plans and policies.

But the Pew poll reveals continuing divisions regarding the American electoral process and the results of the presidential election itself, which almost certainly reflect the false, baseless claims of voter fraud espoused by Trump leading up to and after the election. Among all voters who responded to the survey, 34% incorrectly believe that Trump “definitely” or “probably” won the election—with that number escalating to 64% of Republican and Republican-leaning individuals, and 75% of Trump voters.