New poll reveals what Americans think about Comey firing — and the results are surprising

A new poll measuring Americans’ opinion of President Donald Trump’s decision to fire former FBI Director James Comey reveals most Americans either approve of the firing or have no opinion. Only 38 percent of those surveyed said they oppose the decision.

An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Sunday morning shows 38 percent of U.S. adults disapprove of Trump’s decision to fire Comey, while 29 percent said they approve of the dismissal and 32 percent said they have no opinion.

As with many other issues, respondents were divided along party lines. Fifty-eight percent of Republicans approve of Trump’s decision, but only 9 percent of Democrats approve. Sixty-six percent of Democrats said they disapprove of the decision to fire Comey, and 74 percent of Democrats said they believe Trump fired Comey to “slow down the FBI investigation of Russia's involvement in the 2016 election.”

Only 8 percent of Republicans disapprove, and two-thirds of all Republican respondents said they think the decision was largely because of Comey’s choice not to recommend a prosecution of Hillary Clinton for having a personal e-mail server through which she conducted business while serving as secretary of state under President Barack Obama.

Independents’ view of the Comey saga may be the most interesting. About 36 percent said they disapprove of the firing, and only 21 percent said they approve. A whopping 42 percent said they have no opinion, suggesting it’s unlikely the dismissal will have any impact on Trump’s chances in 2020 (at least, for now).

Survey respondents were also asked to say whether they would support an independent commission or special prosecutor to investigate Russia’s potential involvement with the Trump campaign team. More than three-fourths of those surveyed said they would. Only 15 percent said they want Congress to run an investigation of its own.

The poll was conducted May 11-13, and 800 adults were surveyed. Comey was fired by Trump on May 9.