38 Percent Disapprove of the Director’s Dismissal, 32 Percent Don’t Know Enough to Say

Little Change in Trump’s Job Approval after Comey’s Firing

78 Percent Support an Independent Commission or Special Prosecutor to Look into Russia’s Role in Election

MAY 14, 2017 – Twenty-nine percent of Americans approve of President Donald Trump’s decision to fire F.B.I. Director James Comey this week, while 38 percent disapprove, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

Another 32 percent of respondents don’t have enough to say on the matter.

Comey’s firing has no significant change on the president’s job approval rating of 39 percent; it is only one point lower than last month’s NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, well within the poll’s margin of error.

Forty-six percent of Americans – including 74 percent of Democrats – say they agree with the statement that Trump fired Comey to slow down the F.B.I. investigation of Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election. On the other hand, 38 percent of respondents – including nearly two-thirds of Republicans –believe that the firing was due to how Comey handled the investigation into former Sec. Hillary Clinton’s emails.

Asked if they prefer Congress or an independent commission or special prosecutor to investigate Russia’s involvement, only 15 percent choose Congress, while 78 percent support an independent commission or special prosecutor.

Read more about the poll’s findings, including Americans’ reaction to the Republican health care legislation passed in the House of Representatives: http://nbcnews.to/2r6gCvH.

MANDATORY CREDIT: NBC NEWS/WALL STREET JOURNAL POLL

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