Support for Biden impeachment inquiry grows with a notable level of Democrat backing: poll
The support for a possible House impeachment inquiry against President Biden is growing among the American public, with nearly a quarter of Democrats saying they would back such a move, a new poll has found.
According to the NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll released Wednesday, 49% of U.S. adults say they would support the House of Representatives officially launching an impeachment inquiry into Biden amid allegations of corruption within his family, compared to 48% who would not.
That number is up from the same survey in October that found 47% supported such a move, and 52% would be opposed.
An impeachment inquiry is most notably supported by 24% of adults identifying as Democrats, although a majority (74%) would still be opposed.
The poll found that Biden’s approval rating remains heavily underwater, with just 40% of adults approving of his job performance as president and 53% saying they did not approve.
That number is weighed down heavily by those identifying as independents, with just 36% approving of his job performance and 59% disapproving.
Despite being a traditionally reliable Democrat voting bloc, younger voters’ views of Biden also appear to be dragging him down, as just 39% of Gen Z and Millennial voters approve of his job performance, and 50% disapprove.
On favorability, Biden edges former President Donald Trump, the current frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, with 40% of adults saying they view Biden favorably compared to just 38% for Trump.
Among registered voters, 49% said they would vote for Biden if the 2024 presidential election were held today and 48% said they would vote for Trump.
Biden trails Trump among independent voters 45%-50%, but held a surprisingly slight edge among Gen Z and Millennial voters 52%-48%.
The poll also asked about a number of hot-button policies, including the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, border security, abortion and gender.
On funding for Ukraine amid its war with Russia and Israel for its war against Hamas, 36% said they oppose funding for either nation, and 32% said they support funding both. Sixteen percent said they support only funding Ukraine, and 15% only support funding for Israel.
Half of Americans said they would not support allowing any Palestinian refugees from Gaza into the U.S., while 47% said they would support such a move.
A majority of 54% support building a physical wall at the southern border and 45% said they do not.
On transgender issues, a majority of Americans (59%) said they believed whether a person is a man or woman is determined by the gender they were assigned at birth, while 38% said a person can be a man or woman even if it wasn’t the gender they were assigned at birth.
When it came to abortion, most Americans (54%) said laws should be determined by individual states, rather than at the national level (43%).
If a national law were in place, an overwhelming 84% said they would support exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother, while 14% said they would support no exceptions.
On limitations, 21% said abortion should never be allowed, 18% said it should only be allowed in the first six weeks of pregnancy, 21% only in the first 15 weeks, 13% in the first 24 weeks, and 25% said a woman should be able to get an abortion at any point during a pregnancy.