Sarah Sanders Downplays Fox News Impeachment Poll While Appearing on Fox News
Sarah Sanders, the former White House press secretary turned Fox News contributor, downplayed the significance of a recent Fox impeachment poll during a Thursday appearance on the network.
Saying that President Donald Trump “has a lot on his plate,” host Sandra Smith asked Sanders for her reaction to a Fox poll that showed 51 percent of respondents supporting Trump’s impeachment and removal from office.
In her answer, Sanders focused on the president’s ability to multitask.
“If anybody can handle a lot of different things on their plate, it’s certainly Donald Trump,” she said.
“He’s proven that time and time again, whether it’s focusing on trade, the defeat of ISIS, rebuilding our military. He’s very capable of doing a number of things at one time.”
Sanders also criticized the poll’s significance.
“I think that impeachment is very bad for our country, but frankly, it’s not been bad so far for Republican fundraising or candidate recruitment,” she said. “And I think that those two things mean infinitely more than a poll a year out.”
The Fox poll, released Wednesday, found that support for impeachment had increased since July — among not just Democrats but Republicans and independents as well. Overall, support for impeachment had risen by nine percentage points.
Since the network’s July poll, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has launched an impeachment inquiry against Trump over his phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
As that inquiry has accelerated, impeachment has become more popular in some important demographics.
Among white evangelical Christians, support for impeachment is up to 28 percent — a five percentage point increase from July. Among rural whites, support has reached 38 percent, a 10 percentage point increase.
The results of Fox’s poll gels with other recent polling on impeachment.
A Politico/Morning Consult poll conducted Monday and Tuesday showed 50 percent of respondents supporting the president’s impeachment and removal from office.
Another poll released Tuesday from Quinnipiac revealed that 45 percent of respondents favored impeachment and removal.
Trump was quick to condemn Fox’s findings on Twitter.
“From the day I announced I was running for President, I have NEVER had a good @FoxNews Poll,” he wrote Thursday.
“Whoever their Pollster is, they suck.”
…Court Justice & I turned him down (he’s been terrible ever since), Shep Smith, @donnabrazile (who gave Crooked Hillary the debate questions & got fired from @CNN), & others, @FoxNews doesn’t deliver for US anymore. It is so different than it used to be. Oh well, I’m President!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 10, 2019
The president also lamented that Fox News “doesn’t deliver for US anymore.”
“It is so different than it used to be,” he said.
Trump went on to praise rival conservative network One America News just minutes after criticizing Fox.
Thank you to @OANN One America News for your fair coverage and brilliant reporting. It is appreciated by many people trying so hard to find a new, consistent and powerful VOICE! See you tonight at the Big Rally in Minneapolis.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 10, 2019
“Thank you to @OANN One America News for your fair coverage and brilliant reporting,” Trump tweeted. “It is appreciated by many people trying so hard to find a new, consistent and powerful VOICE!”
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