As House Democrats are moving to impeach President Donald Trump for a second time, a majority of Americans appear to agree that he should be removed from office before he can finish out the remainder of his term.
A new ABC News/Ipsos poll released on Sunday asked respondents if they believe Trump should be removed from office. A majority of the respondents, 56%, said he should be removed, while 43% said he should not be removed.
Respondents who said Trump should not be removed were asked why they hold that position. Fifty-four percent said they do not believe Trump’s actions were wrong. Meanwhile, 45% said they think his actions were wrong, but “it is not worth pursuing because he will be leaving office anyhow on January 20.”
The new poll was conducted days after a mob of Trump supporters descended on the U.S. Capitol and stormed the building, which interrupted Congressional proceedings and left at least five dead.
Congressional Democrats have accused the president of inciting an “insurrection” and are calling for his removal either through the 25th Amendment or impeachment.
On Monday, House Democrats unveiled their article of impeachment against Trump.
If the House votes to impeach Trump, it would be the first time that a president was impeached twice.
Trump was impeached by the House in December 2019 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress after it was reported he pressured Ukrainian officials to launch an investigation into President-elect Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.
However, he was acquitted of both charges by the Senate.
An ABC News/Ipsos poll from November 2019 found that 51% of respondents supported Trump’s impeachment and removal at the time. Just one Republican senator voted to convict Trump last year.
However, by the end of the weekend, after rioters breached the Capitol, two Republican senators had broken with Trump and called on him to resign from office.
