(NewsNation) — Most Americans approve of the FBI’s search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate earlier this month, although there is a significant partisan divide, according to the latest NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ poll.
More than 93% of Democrats and 61% of independents surveyed said they somewhat or strongly approve of the FBI’s raid of Trump’s Florida home, compared to just 30% of Republicans who said the same.
The effort to recover classified documents has been called unprecedented by pundits across the political spectrum and appears to have catalyzed a broader distrust in federal institutions among right-leaning Americans, the latest NewsNation poll found.
Just 48% of Republicans surveyed have at least a “fair amount” of trust in the FBI, and even less, about 44%, feel the same about the Department of Justice.
By comparison, nearly 80% of Democrats said they trust the FBI a “fair amount” and 77% trust the DOJ.
Experts say the low trust among Republicans, and strong support among Democrats, is likely a reflection of today’s hyperpolarization, with partisans uniting against their perceived enemies.
“Even in these departments that are carrying out functions that we might naively associate with things Republicans tend to align themselves with, there’s this strong identification of these departments with the fact that Joe Biden is the president.” said Kiel Williams, a senior data scientist at Decision Desk HQ.
More than 66% of right-leaning respondents somewhat or strongly disapprove of the DOJ’s investigation into the former president’s potential mishandling of government documents.
The federal investigation also appears to have galvanized at least some Republicans to rally around Trump.
More than 52% of Republicans surveyed said the recent events made them more likely to vote for Donald Trump if he were to run for president in 2024 — only 16% said they’re now less likely to vote for the former president.
It’s still unclear whether Trump himself, or someone in his inner circle, is under investigation or whether any party could face criminal charges in connection with the classified document probe. The former president has denied any wrongdoing and asked for some of the documents to be returned.
Almost 45% of those surveyed said they would vote for the Republican congressional candidate in their district if the election were held today. That’s slightly higher than the 42% of respondents who said they would vote for the Democratic candidate.
Among respondents who identified as independents, 37.5% said they would vote for the Republican candidate, compared to 30.9% who would vote Democrat.
“We continue to come away with the sense that Republicans are probably favored to reclaim the House of Representatives,” Williams said.