--- title: James Comey Fired: Americans Divided About Trump's Decision description: A poll assessing President Trump's decision to fire Comey finds that few Americans are on board with it canonical: https://time.com/4778500/trump-james-comey-fired-poll/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-05-14T18:48:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:02:22.272Z article:section: Politics og:title: Americans Are Divided About President Trump's Decision to Fire James Comey og:description: 38% disapprove, and 32% don't know enough to say og:url: https://time.com/4778500/trump-james-comey-fired-poll/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt992cb75679fc7208/6988cd118fd2eee54b35706b/trump-comey-fbi-fired-director-tapes.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5190 og:image:height: 2919 og:image:alt: trump-comey-fbi-fired-director-tapes og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Americans Are Divided About President Trump's Decision to Fire James Comey twitter:description: 38% disapprove, and 32% don't know enough to say twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt992cb75679fc7208/6988cd118fd2eee54b35706b/trump-comey-fbi-fired-director-tapes.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Americans Are Divided About President Trump's Decision to Fire James Comey > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=f8539476-982d-4864-b7bc-caa37d27de03&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Comparing James Comey's Firing to Richard Nixon [Watch (HLS stream): Comparing James Comey's Firing to Richard Nixon](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/rzpxxq3y.m3u8) (1:55)  _Published 2017-05-11. When President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey Tuesday, people were quick to cry Nixon._  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson May 14, 2017 6:48 PM UTC  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson May 14, 2017 6:48 PM UTC The first national poll assessing voters’ opinions of President Donald Trump’s decision to fire FBI Director James Comey found Americans are unsure how they feel about his ouster. Only 29% of those polled approved of Trump’s decision, according to [an NBC/WSJ](https://www.scribd.com/document/348302118/NBC-WSJ-May-2017-poll) poll released Saturday. Of the 800 people polled, 677 of whom are registered voters, 38% disapprove, and 32% said they don’t know enough to comment. The poll — conducted in the wake of the [White House’s announcement about Comey](http://time.com/4777982/donald-trump-end-press-briefings/) — was conducted from May 11 to May 13\. The margin of error for the poll is 3.77%. Trump initially said he was firing Comey because of the way he had handled the investigation into [Hillary Clinton’s](http://time.com/4773354/donald-trump-james-comey-fired-hillary-clinton-email-investigation/) email server, but critics immediately said his termination was a result of the FBI’s ongoing investigation into possible collusion between Trump campaign associates and Russia. Nearly half of those polled — 46% — said they agreed on some level that Trump’s decision was based on the Russia investigation, while 38% said it about Clinton’s emails. The responses didn’t stem from a lack of knowledge — 93% of the respondents said they had “seen, read, or heard the news coverage” about Trump’s decision to fire Comey. The [American Health Care Act ](http://time.com/4769973/tom-price-defends-medicaid-cuts/) — House Republicans’ replacement legislation for [Obamacare](http://time.com/4767856/health-care-vote-senate-republicans-mitch-mcconnell/), which passed in the House of Representatives May 4 — was even less popular than Comey’s termination. Only 23% polled thought the legislation was a “total good idea,” while 48% thought it was a “total bad idea” and 28% did not have an opinion. Trump’s overall ratings, however, remain relatively unchanged from the [NBC/WSJ poll released a month ago.](http://time.com/4751730/donald-trump-100-days-approval-ratings/?iid=sr-link3) He maintained a 39% approval rating, in comparison with the 40% he had a month ago. The majority of Americans, 54%, disapprove of the job he is doing, which is the same as last month. In February, however, the same poll had Trump’s approval rating at 44% and his disapproval rating at just below half, with 48%. ## Transcript Well I'm not a crook. On October 20th, 1973, President Nixon ordered Justice Department officials to fire Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox who had been appointed to investigate the Watergate scandal. Both the attorney general and the deputy attorney general refused the president's orders and resigned. Nixon's new acting attorney general. Robert Bork complied and fired Cox, which effectively dismantled the investigation. Cox's firing prompted heavy criticism, and was seen as a key point in the events that led to Nixon's eventual resignation. [ MUSIC ] I shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow. Vice President Ford Will be sworn in as president, at that hour, in this office. More than 40 years later, the Trump Administration has been clouded by an ongoing FBI investigation into potential communications between members of his campaign, and Russia during the 2016 election. The FBI, as part of our counterintelligence mission Is investigating the Russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. Trump fired James Comey shortly after Comey requested more resources for the agency's Russia probe. Why did you fire Director Comey? Because he wasn't doing a good job, very simply. He was not doing a good job. But while many people have drawn parallels, historians note the two situations are not exactly the same, as Nixon did not fire the head of the FBI. 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