WASHINGTON — Most Americans say they think President Donald Trump has little to no respect for the country’s democratic traditions, according to a new poll that underscores the difficulty Trump faces in uniting a country deeply divided about his leadership.
The new survey, conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, found more than 6 in 10 Americans disapprove of the job Trump is doing as president, and nearly half strongly disapprove.
The survey suggests Trump faces big challenges as he seeks to position himself as a unifying figure.
Two-thirds of Americans, or 65 percent, think Trump doesn’t have much respect for the country’s democratic institutions and traditions or has none at all. Just a third of Americans, or 34 percent, thinks he has a great deal or even a fair amount of respect for them.
Overall, 64 percent disapprove and just 35 percent approve of his job performance.
Trump was unpopular among Americans overall even as he was elected president, but the poll shows that even many Republicans have doubts. Nearly a third of Republicans and independents who lean toward the Republican party think Trump has little to no respect for the country’s democratic institutions, and a quarter disapprove of the job he’s doing as president. Nine in 10 Democrats and 6 in 10 independents say the same.
Ron Denmon, a 55-year-old independent voter from Houston, agreed that Trump has little regard for the country’s democratic institutions and traditions, including the White House taking steps to avoid politicizing the Justice Department and the FBI. Denmon referenced recent news reports that Trump was considering firing Robert Mueller, the special counsel named by the Justice Department to investigate Russia’s role in the 2016 election. Mueller was appointed after Trump dismissed Comey, who had been leading the inquiry. Comey has said Trump was trying to influence his handling of the Russia investigation.
“The fact that he’s even considering getting rid of Mueller is even more evidence that he thinks it’s all about him and how he wants to control things,” said Denmon, a 22-year Air Force veteran who said his vote for Trump last November was more against Hillary Clinton.
Of Trump, Denmon said: “He doesn’t care about the process. He only cares about him.”
A White House spokeswoman, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said Tuesday that Trump “has no intention” of firing Mueller, but maintained he “has the right to.”