An in-depth report that reviews the major trends on public attitudes toward the impeachment inquiry, including the latest polling numbers, trends in attitudes since the inquiry announcement, an overview of partisan attitudes, and the impact of impeachment on the President’s approval ratings.  The report also details media coverage of the impeachment, examining the amount of coverage, comparisons of the coverage to the Mueller investigation, most shared publications, and most shared news articles.

1. IMPEACHMENT
Status of public opinion and news coverage
Special Report: October 29, 2019

2. Latest Poll Numbers
Should be
impeached,
50%
Don't feel
that way,
43%
October 17-20, 2019
CNN
Based on what you have read or heard, do you
believe that President Trump should be impeached
and removed from office, or don't you feel that way?
6% | 87% | 50%
Should be
impeached,
48%
Don't feel
that way,
46%
October 17-21, 2019
Quinnipiac
Do you think that President Trump should be
impeached and removed from office, or don't you
think so?
Should
impeach,
47%
Should not
impeach,
38%
October 13-15, 2019
Economist/YouGov
Do you think the U.S. House of Representatives
should or should not impeach Donald Trump?
Party ID: Should be Impeached
6% | 86% | 49%
Party ID: Should be Impeached
15% | 82% | 36%
Party ID: Should Impeach
Republicans Democrats Independents
The latest public opinion surveys on impeachment from CNN, Quinnipiac, and Economist/YouGov show support for impeachment at or slightly under 50%.
The CNN and Quinnipiac show nearly identical partisan attitudes – with support for impeachment among Republicans at 6%, 86-87% among Democrats,
and 49-50% among independents. In the Economist/YouGov survey, independents show a high degree of uncertainty: 25% don’t know whether the House
should or should not impeach Trump.
Republicans Democrats IndependentsRepublicans Democrats Independents

3. Attitudes on Impeachment: Trend
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Support for Impeachment, Sep. 24 to Oct. 23
Since the impeachment inquiry announcement in late September, surveys from several pollsters and news organizations have shown that support for
impeachment has grown slightly. Still, support for impeachment remains at or just under 50%. Attitudes on the impeachment seem to have solidified
quickly, with only small changes in attitudes after the impeachment inquiry. Quinnipiac’s polling shows support increased from 37% just as the
impeachment inquiry was announced. Since then, support has stayed between 45% and 48%. The impeachment demonstrates yet again how fast the news
cycle moves and how quickly public opinion coalesces.

4. Democratic Support has Solidified
CNN
Based on what you have read or heard, do you believe that President Trump
should be impeached and removed from office, or don't you feel that way?
Quinnipiac
Do you think that President Trump should be impeached and removed from
office, or don't you think so?
73%
87%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
September 29, 2019 October 20, 2019
73%
86%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
September 23, 2019 October 21, 2019
The increase in support for impeachment since the announcement has been largely the result of growing Democratic support. Since September 29th,
support for impeachment among Democrats and independents who lean Democratic has increased 14 points in CNN’s trend. In Quinnipiac's trend, support
for impeachment among Democrats and independents who lean Democratic has increased 13 points since September 23rd.
Democrats + Democratic Leaners
Should be Impeached and Removed from Office
Democrats + Democratic Leaners
Should be Impeached and Removed from Office

5. What’s Impeachable? What’s Not?
Do you think asking a foreign leader for help in defeating an
opponent in an upcoming election is or is not a good enough
reason to impeach a president and remove them from office?
(Quinnipiac, Sep. 27-29)
52% 85% 17%
% Yes, good enough reason to impeach
All Voters Democrats Republicans
Do you think President Trump has done something
wrong regarding his interactions with the President of
Ukraine, or don't you think so? (Quinnipiac, Sep. 27-29)
50% 86% 9%
% Yes, Trump did something wrong
All Voters Democrats Republicans
Based on what you have read or heard about Donald Trump’s
interactions with the President of Ukraine, do you believe that
… ? (CNN, Sep. 24-29)
48% 74% 17%
% Trump Improperly used the presidency to gain
political advantage against a potential 2020 opponent
All Voters Democrats Republicans
Do you think it was appropriate or inappropriate for Donald
Trump to withhold military aid to Ukraine while urging the
President of Ukraine to investigate allegations of corruption
against the Biden family? (Economist/YouGov, Oct. 6–8)
54% 88% 18%
% Inappropriate to withhold aid
All Voters Democrats Republicans
Which comes closer to your point of view about the
allegations against President Trump that he requested a
foreign leader open an investigation related to Joe Biden and
his son? Are these allegations … ? (NBC/WSJ, Oct 4–6)
47% 84% 20%
% Allegations are serious
All Voters Democrats Republicans
Official notes of a call showed that President Trump
asked the President of Ukraine to investigate a potential
political opponent, Joe Biden. Do you think …? (NPR/
News Hour/ Marist, Sep. 25)
54% 78% 27%
% Serious matter that requires investigation
All Voters Democrats Republicans
Republicans and Democrats have sharply diverging views on the allegations behind impeachment – Trump’s actions as it relates to Ukraine. Across
several questions, it’s clear that Democrats widely believe what the President did was improper and serious. Only a minority of Republicans hold those
views.

6. Trumps Approval Since Impeachment Inquiry Began
The Ukraine incident and the impeachment investigation have had a minor negative effect on the President’s ratings when it comes to foreign policy. Only
time will tell if the decline lasts. Considering the constant coverage of the President, his overall job approval rating remains largely unaffected. Within the
Lunchtime Politics daily average had Trump’s job approval rating stood at 45% in late August and 42% in late October. By this point, most Americans have
made up their mind on the President. The Lunchtime Politics daily average is based on recent nationwide polls.
Trump Approval of Foreign Policy/ Affairs Trump Job Approval
Aug. 2019, 40%
Aug. 2019, 38%
Oct. 2019, 38%
Oct. 2019, 35%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
CNN: Approve of
Trump’s handling
of foreign affairs
Quinnipiac:
Approve of
Trump’s handling
of foreign policy
Aug. 26 2019,
52%
Aug. 26 2019,
45%
Oct. 21 2019,
54%
Oct. 21 2019,
42%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
-3
-2
-3
+2
Lunchtime Politics
Approval Average:
Lunchtime Politics
Disapproval
Average:

7. Mueller Report Publicly Released April 18th, 2019
Volume of news stories discussing the public release of Robert Mueller’s investigative
report into internarial interference in the 2016 presidential election from April 15th,
2019 to May 14th, 2019.
Coverage of Impeachment Inquiry
Impeachment Inquiry Announced September 25th, 2019
Volume of news stories discussing Trump and impeachment from September 22nd , 2019
to October 21st, 2019.
Coverage of the impeachment in news media shows widespread interest. The charts below compare the volume of news stories discussing the public
release of the Mueller report from earlier this year to the volume of news stories discussing the announcement of the impeachment inquiry into President
Trump by the House of Representatives. Each chart begins three-days before each event and spans a month. The Mueller report was released to the public
on April 18th, 2019. The total volume of stories discussing the Mueller report and investigation over that period totals 177,649 news stories. Nancy Pelosi
announced the impeachment inquiry on September 25th, leading to 308,188 news stories within the month period. While initially having a similar spike in
coverage of the announcements, the impeachment inquiry has generated over 130,539 more stories, with more consistent follow-up coverage.
Total Volume of Stories: 308,188 Total Volume of Stories: 177,649
Trump Impeachment Conversation Public Release of Mueller Report

8. Leading Sources of Impeachment News
0M 1M 2M 3M 4M 5M 6M 7M 8M 9M 10M 11M 12M 13M 14M 15M 16M 17M
Fox News
The Washington
Post
The Hill
NBCNEWS.com
CNN.com
International
Breitbart
PoliticusUSA.com
Yahoo! News
MSN.com
The Daily Caller
14,852,140
11,858,406
10,145,896
7,794,998
6,062,537
6,022,558
5,530,405
4,907,068
4,065,493
3,828,709
Impeachment Inquiry Announced September 25th, 2019
Volume of news stories discussing Trump and impeachment from September 22nd , 2019 to October 21st, 2019.
Total Volume of Engagements: 170,283,689
Engagement on Trump Impeachment Conversation
With the widespread news coverage of the
impeachment, certain news sources have been
more successful in generating social media
engagement from their coverage – likes, shares,
retweets, etc. Fox News and The Washington Post
are driving the highest levels of engagement.
Other sources generating widespread social media
engagement for their coverage include The Hill,
NBC News, CNN, Breitbart, PoliticusUSA, Yahoo
News, MSN.com, and the Daily Caller.
The most engaging sources include a mix of left,
right, and "mainstream" news publications.
However, right-leaning publications generate
more engagements than the left-leaning ones. Fox
News, Breitbart, and Daily Caller have collectively
produced 24.7 million social engagements.

9. The most engaging sources are similar between the public release of the Mueller and the impeachment investigation. However, the impeachment
investigation has generated over 100 million additional social engagements than the public release of the Mueller report among all news sources – 170.2
million vs. 77.7 million. The top news sources are having a larger impact on the coverage surrounding the impeachment, generating substantially more
engagements than the Mueller Report.
Mueller Report Publicly Released April 18th, 2019
Top sources discussing the public release of the Mueller Report by volume of social
media engagements from April 15th, 2019 to May 14th, 2019.
Impeachment Inquiry Top Sources by Engagement
Top sources discussing the impeachment inquiry by volume of social media
engagements from September 22nd, 2019 to October 21st, 2019.
Total Volume of Engagements: 170,283,689
Total Volume of Engagements: 77,781,579
Engagement on Trump Impeachment Conversation Engagement on Public Release of Mueller Report Conversation
Leading News Sources: Mueller Report vs. Impeachment

10. Top News Articles by Source
Below are three articles that produced high engagement from the news coverage of the impeachment from September 22nd to October 21st. The articles
provide a window into what has most resonated with news consumers. The top engaging story by Politicus USA focuses on how House Democrats have
enough support to impeach Trump. The second most engaging story focuses on Pelosi's announcement of the impeachment inquiry. Several articles,
including this Washington Post article, illustrate the initial spike in interest around the beginning of the impeachment inquiry. Another top engaging article
is an obituary of Congressman Elijah Cummings. The impeachment inquiry has permeated all facets of political commentary, pulling even the
Congressman's death into the narrative.
House Democrats Now Have Enough
Votes to Impeach Donald Trump
From: Politicus USA
Total Engagements: 1,783,607
Pelosi Announces Impeachment Inquiry,
Says Trump’s Courting of Foreign Political
Help is a ‘Betrayal of National Security’
From: The Washington Post
Total Engagements: 1,072,005
Elijah Cummings, A Maryland
Democrat and House Oversight
Chairman, Dies at 68
From: NBC News
Total Engagements: 828,771

11. About Us
Certus Insights is a full-service research firm based in the
Washington. D.C. area. We are industry-leading experts in
helping clients answer important strategic and tactical
questions through quantitative, qualitative, and analytical
methods. Certus Insights is an expert in public opinion
surveys, message development surveys, elite opinion
maker surveys, media share of voice, social media
analytics, and member/employee research. To learn more
visit Certus insights.com.

12. For more Information
Andrew Rugg
Andrew.Rugg@CertusInsights.com
Natalie Copeland
Natalie.Copeland@CertusInsights.com
Ron Faucheux
RFaucheux@CertusInsights.com