President Donald Trump’s job approval has not seen much change following the United States drone attack that killed Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani and the House of Representatives’ vote to impeach Trump, according to latest results from the Marquette University Law School poll.
The results show Trump’s job approval rating is 48%, with disapproval at 49%. This is the first time since March 2017 that Trump’s disapproval rating has fallen below 50%.
The poll was presented by law and public policy fellow Mike Gousha and poll director Charles Franklin at “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” in the Eckstein Hall Lubar Center Jan. 15. The poll was conducted Jan. 8-12. It included 800 registered Wisconsin voters polled by cellphone or landline, with a plus or minus 4.1% margin of error.
Despite the decreased disapproval rating, Wisconsin voters do not feel favorably on Trump’s handling of foreign policy. Forty-four percent of voters approved, while 53% disapproved and 2% did not know.
The poll asked voters if they agreed with the statement, “It’s about time that the U.S. struck back against Iran.” Forty-three percent agreed with the statement and 51% disagreed. Five percent said they did not know.
The potential of a serious military conflict between Iran and the United States was also discussed in the poll. Thirty percent said a major conflict is likely and 8% said they did not know.
Views about Trump’s actions in Ukraine have also not changed much following the House of Representatives vote to impeach. Forty percent of voters feel Trump did something seriously wrong in his actions with Ukraine, 14% said he did something wrong but not seriously, 37% say he did nothing wrong and 9% did not know.
Forty-seven percent of voters approved of the decision to impeach, with 49% disapproving and 3% reporting they did not know. In terms of the upcoming trial, 44% said the Senate should convict Trump and remove him from office, while 49% said the Senate should acquit.
In the December poll, 40% were in favor of impeachment, while 52% opposed.
The poll also asked voters about Democratic primary candidates. The top four choices among Democratic primary voters remain the same with former vice president Joe Biden leading, senator Bernie Sanders in second, former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg in third and senator Elizabeth Warren in fourth. However, 60% of Democratic primary voters said they may change their mind.
Franklin said the upcoming primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire could shake up the standings. Iowa’s primary is Feb. 3, and New Hampshire’s is Feb. 11.
The general election matchups with Democratic candidates versus Trump indicate a close race, with each comparison within the margin of error.
Voters were also asked about Governor Tony Ever’s job in office. His job approval is 51%, with disapproval at 40%.
The poll also asked voters questions of national policy, including global warming and immigration.
Forty-one percent of voters said global warming will cause a great deal of harm to people in the United States. Twenty-one percent said there will be a moderate amount of harm and 16% said there will be little harm. Nineteen percent said there will be no harm at all and 2% said they did not know.
When asked about legal immigration, 41% of voters said the number of legal immigrants to the United States should remain the same, 35% said it should be increased and 20% said it should be reduced.
Whether tariffs hurt the U.S. economy was also questioned. Thirty-two percent said tariffs help the economy and 24% said they don’t make any difference.
Opinions on relations with North Korea and the United States has not changed much since October. Sixty-five percent say they do not expect the United States to reach an agreement on reducing nuclear weapons within the next year or two, down 1% from 66% in October.
More than half of voters say you cannot trust the government to do what’s right. Twenty-six percent said they strongly agreed with that statement, while 38% somewhat agreed.
A majority of voters have confidence in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with 33% saying they have a great deal of confidence in the office and 39% saying they have some confidence.
Wisconsin voters were also asked to discuss issues particular to the state, such as Foxconn and satisfaction with public schools. Almost half of voters say that Foxconn is not worth the cost, with 46% believing the state is paying more than the plant is worth.
Satisfaction with public schools has a majority in the state, with 15% being very satisfied and 44% being satisfied. More than half of voters also feel it is more important to increase spending on public schools than to reduce property taxes.
Seventy percent of Wisconsin voters favor Wisconsin’s law allowing residents to obtain a license to carry a concealed handgun. This result is up from 2016 when 63% favored. The law, which went into effect in 2011, was more contentious when polled in 2012. A 2012 Marquette Law School poll conducted April 26-29 showed 47% of voters approving and 50% disapproving.
Almost half of Wisconsin voters say the economy has gotten better in the state over the past year, at 48%. Seventeen percent say it got worse and 33% say it stayed the same. Economic outlooks for the next year show 33% of Wisconsin voters believing it will get better, 23% saying it will get worse and 37% saying it will stay the same.
This story was written by Annie Mattea. She can be reached at [email protected].
