Americans Are Divided About President Trump’s Decision to Fire James Comey

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 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 — 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 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 — House Republicans’ replacement legislation for Obamacare, 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. 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%.