The growing threat to democracy is the most important issue facing the country, according to a new poll that also found strong support for continued investigations into the actions of former President Donald Trump.
An NBC News poll conducted earlier this month and released Sunday found 57% of respondents agreed that investigations into potential wrongdoing by Trump should carry on. That included 92% of Democrats and 61% of independents, but only 21% of Republicans.
Half of those polled said Trump was solely or mainly responsible for the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection, a five-percentage-point gain since a similar poll in May, before the House Jan. 6 committee began its series of public hearings.
Meanwhile, “threats to democracy” rose to the No. 1 issue facing America, topping “cost of living.” In a similar poll in May, “cost of living” was the No. 1 concern, while “threats to democracy” did not make the list.
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Respondents were split over whether things will get better or worse over the next five years, with 36% saying “get better” and 34% saying “get worse.” But 58% said America’s best years are behind it.
Most — 68% — still believe that the U.S. is in a recession, down from 76% in May.
President Joe Biden’s approval rating ticked up slightly, to 42%, but 48% said they had “somewhat” or “very” negative feelings about the president.
The poll also found growing dissatisfaction with the FBI following the recent raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, with 34% having either “very little” or “none at all” confidence in the agency, compared to 26% who said that in December 2019. Still, about 39% expressed “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of confidence in the FBI, on par with polls dating back to 2014. Confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court has tumbled since Roe v. Wade was overturned, though, with 37% of respondents having little or no confidence in the high court, compared to 17% who said that in December 2019.
The poll interviewed 1,000 voters between Aug. 12-16, and had a margin of error of about 3%.