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Polls: Trump team's meeting with Russian lawyer was inappropriate

Details on Trump Jr.'s meeting
Eighth person in Trump Tower meeting identified 01:58

Roughly half of Americans in two new polls say it was not appropriate for three of then-candidate Donald Trump's closest associates during the 2016 campaign to meet with an attorney linked to the Russian government in the hope of obtaining incriminating information about Hillary Clinton. A significantly smaller number in both surveys said the encounter was appropriate. The mysterious meeting between Donald Trump Jr., Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner was first reported earlier this month and has remained front page news as details about who was there and what was discussed continue to emerge.

Fifty-two percent of registered voters in a Politico/Morning Consult survey released Wednesday said the meeting was not appropriate. Just 23 percent said it was appropriate, and 25 percent had no opinion.

And in an Economist/YouGov poll also released Wednesday, 49 percent of Americans said the meeting between the Russian government attorney and Mr. Trump's associates was not acceptable. Only 29 percent said it was acceptable, and 22 percent said they weren't sure.

Another person in Trump Jr. meeting identified 04:54

Respondents in the Economist survey were more evenly divided on the question of whether the meeting broke the law. Thirty-seven percent said they believe the rendezvous was illegal, while 34 percent disagreed. Twenty-nine percent weren't sure.

And 52 percent of Americans said the Trump campaign had a responsibility to report the meeting, while 23 percent absolved the campaign of that responsibility. 25 percent weren't sure.

Of all the Trump associates caught up in the controversy, suspicion seems to be falling most heavily on Donald Trump Jr. Eighty-eight percent of Americans in the Economist poll said they believe Trump Jr. had improper dealings with Russian officials before the inauguration. Seventy percent said the same of Kushner, and 55 percent said the same of Manafort.

The president's approval ratings in both surveys are underwater. In the Economist poll, only 38 percent of Americans said they approve of Mr. Trump's job performance, while 54 percent said they disapprove. And in the Politico poll, 44 percent said they approve of the job the president is doing, and 51 percent said they disapprove.

The Economist/YouGov poll surveyed 1,500 Americans between July 15 and July 18, and it has a margin of error of plus or minus three percent. The Politico/Morning Consult poll surveyed 1,994 registered voters between July 13 and July 15, and it has a margin of error of plus or minus two percent.

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