A new Rasmussen poll shows just how far the opinion of the FBI has dropped in the eyes of the American public since the raid they conducted on the home of President Donald Trump.
44 percent of likely U.S. voters say the raid has made them trust the FBI less, compared to 29 percent who say it made them trust the bureau more.
A majority of Americans — 53 percent — think that the FBI is “Joe Biden’s personal Gestapo.”
This is where the Biden team has taken one of our previously vaunted law enforcement agencies — banana republic land. That’s a deep problem when we are built on the equal application of the rule of law, not the rule of men.
The only thing that’s saving the FBI from going completely underwater is the opinion of Democrats. But meanwhile, the Republicans and independents trust them much less.
Approval of the FBI, including its raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, is highest among Democratic voters. Seventy-five percent (75%) of Democrats now have a favorable opinion of the FBI, up from 63% in December. Only 30% of Republicans now view the FBI favorably, down from 38% in December; nearly half (49%) of GOP voters now have a Very Unfavorable impression of the FBI. Among voters not affiliated with either major party, 45% have a favorable impression of the FBI and 50% view the bureau unfavorably.
Fifty percent (50%) of Democrats say the FBI’s recent raid on Trump’s home made them trust the FBI more, but 70% of Republicans say the Mar-a-Lago raid made them trust the FBI less. Among unaffiliated voters, 46% say the raid on Trump made them trust the FBI less, while 18% said it made them trust the FBI more and 29% say the Trump raid did not make much difference in their trust in the FBI.
It’s something to watch some of the folks on the left who have attacked the FBI for years and/or who have been in favor of defunding the police now suddenly embracing the FBI because they think it’s serving their effort to get Trump.
While the Biden team has accelerated the decline of the FBI, it’s been in bad straits since at least 2016, when Hillary Clinton got a complete pass. The difference between how they treated Clinton then and how they are treating Trump now is stark.
Many think this action by the FBI means that Trump will be indicted. Maybe. Or maybe they just want to have the legal threat hanging out there in the wind to hurt him and use against him if he runs again. Maybe like an “insurance policy,” if we harken back to the words of disgraced former FBI official Peter Strzok.
But while the raid hurt the American public’s opinion of the FBI, it’s boosted the opinion of Trump with Republicans and whether they want him to run for president again, according to a Morning Consult poll.
With 58% favorability among GOP voters, the poll showed Trump’s highest lead on record since his 2020 presidential election loss. Likewise, 71% of Republicans say Trump should run for president in 2024.
As we previously reported, according to a Trafalgar Group poll, it has increased the motivation of Republicans and independents to get out and vote — 83.3 percent of Republicans and 71.7 percent of independents. The majority of both groups believe it was politically motivated.
While Americans believe that the “Biden Gestapo” was trying to take Trump down, instead they built him and the Republicans up stronger.
So great job, FBI.