More Americans have concluded that Democrats were always right—Donald Trump is a menace who should be impeached and convicted. But perhaps more importantly, a solid majority wants Trump barred from ever holding office again, which garners even more support than a Senate conviction. Of course, a Senate conviction is a necessary precursor to a permanent ban on Trump, but people's views aren't always rational, and most Americans value the idea of keeping Trump as far away from power as possible.
But overall, support for Trump's impeachment and conviction are both up over this time last year, when GOP senators ultimately acquitted Trump of charges over his effort to extort Ukraine into manufacturing an investigation into his political rival, Joe Biden.
In an ABC News/Washington Post poll from January 2020, for instance, 47% wanted Trump removed from office while 49% opposed his removal. But in the latest ABC/Ipsos poll, 56% want Trump convicted and barred from holding office while just 43% oppose it. So Trump's removal went from being two points underwater to a +13 spread.
In an average of polls, FiveThirtyEight.com found 53% support for Trump being removed from office up through Jan. 20. Here's a brief rundown of the latest polls on conviction:
- CBS News/YouGov: 56% convict, 44% don't convict
- ABC News/Ipsos: 56% convict, 43% don't convict
- Politico/Morning Consult: 54% convict, 39% don't convict
- Gallup: 52% convict, 45% don't convict
- Quinnipiac: 50% convict, 45% don't convict
- AP-NORC: 47% convict, 40% don't convict
But on the question of making sure Trump never gets his stubby little fingers on the levers of government again, 55% in an average of 13 polls supported permanently barring Trump from office, according to FiveThirtyEight.
The Trump ban polls nearly five points above support for Senate conviction, which averages out at just over 50%. As mentioned above, the conviction must come before the Trump ban, but most Americans are very clear about their desire to permanently confine Trump to the dustbin of history, as they say.