Orangutan lovers will love the 'shit thrower' no matter what...

Voters believe Stormy over Trump

But the president's approval ratings have barely budged.

By STEVEN SHEPARD

Voters believe adult-film actress Stormy Daniels.

They believe her claim that she and Donald Trump had sex before he ran for president, and that Trump has been unfaithful to his wife. Only a third think the president is honest. More than half think he has low morals.

But a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll, conducted after Daniels’ appearance on “60 Minutes” this weekend, suggests that despite that litany of sins, the Daniels revelations are unlikely to significantly alter Trump’s political standing.

The president’s approval rating — 42 percent in this week’s poll — remains largely unchanged from 44 percent last week. Fewer voters support beginning impeachment proceedings against Trump than last year. And voters are split on whether Trump should even answer Daniels’ assertions at all.

Taken together, the data suggest Trump’s past behavior with women is already known among voters — and many are willing to overlook it.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders made essentially the same point in her defense of Trump on Tuesday when she was asked by a reporter to respond to former President Jimmy Carter’s assertion that Americans want a president with “basic moral values.”

“I think the people of this country came out by the millions to support Donald Trump, to support his agenda and the policies that he's pushing forward,” Sanders said. “He has been delivering day-in and day-out on that front. He's kept a number of his campaign promises.”

Even so, Trump’s seeming imperviousness to the scandal is stunning given the opinions Americans profess to hold on issues of character. In the most recent POLITICO/Morning Consult poll, 91 percent said honesty is “very important“ for elected officials to embody in their personal life in order to carry out their official duties. Seventy-five percent said the same about morality. On the question of extramarital affairs, 80 percent said they were morally wrong.

Despite all that, when asked directly about the Daniels scandal, nearly half of voters say it doesn't change how they view Trump.

"The Stormy Daniels scandal has had little discernible impact on voter opinions of President Trump this month, "said Morning Consult Co-Founder and Chief Research Officer Kyle Dropp. "In this week's poll, 46 percent of voters said the Stormy Daniels matter made no difference in their view of President Trump, compared to 39 percent who said the same in early March."

The president has thus far refrained from commenting personally on Daniels’ interview on CBS with Anderson Cooper, while the White House reminded the press that Trump has consistently denied allegations of a relationship with Daniels in the past.

While Daniels’ story was tawdry — she described, for the first time on camera, spanking Trump’s rear with an issue of Forbes magazine with his own visage on the cover — In Touch magazine had reported some of the details already, based on a previously unpublished 2011 interview with Daniels.

In his previous career as an aspiring real-estate tycoon and reality-TV character, Trump’s sex life was fodder for Page Six and supermarket tabloids. It was all relitigated during the 2016 presidential campaign — and then there was the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape, in which Trump described being able to assault women because, as he said, “When you’re a star, they let you do it.”

So what exactly do voters believe about Trump’s relationship with Daniels?

A majority believes they had an affair. The POLITICO/Morning Consult poll used a split sample to ask the question two different ways — do you believe they had an affair, or do you believe Daniels’ allegation that they had an affair. Fully 56 percent and 51 percent, respectively for each, say yes. Only 9 percent and 16 percent, respectively, say no.

There’s less confidence, however, in Daniels’ story about being threatened in a Las Vegas parking lot when she was attempting to sell her story to In Touch magazine: 35 percent say her story is credible, while 30 percent say it is not credible and another 35 percent are undecided.

When it comes to Trump’s personal traits and character, the poll suggests many voters compartmentalize their low opinions. Only 26 percent say he is moral; 55 percent say he is not. Just 32 percent say Trump is honest, while a 53 percent majority say he is not. And 54 percent don’t think he’s faithful to his wife.

On the question of whether Trump should make a formal statement to confirm or deny his relationship with Daniels, voters are divided: 41 percent say he should, while 38 percent say he shouldn’t.

Most notably among the Daniels developments — plus the accelerating special counsel investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election — the percentage of voters who think Congress should begin impeachment proceedings against Trump has declined slightly from last year, the poll shows.

Fewer than two-in-five voters, 39 percent, say Congress should begin the process of impeaching Trump. Nearly half, 48 percent, say Congress should not begin impeachment proceedings. That’s virtually unchanged from the last time POLITICO and Morning Consult asked about impeachment last October — and it’s actually down from the 43 percent who wanted impeachment proceedings to begin last May.

Only 15 percent of voters think it’s either very or somewhat likely Daniels’ claims will lead to impeachment proceedings against Trump. Far more, 70 percent, think that’s not too likely or not at all likely.

The poll was conducted March 26-27, surveying 1,997 registered voters. The margin of error is plus or minus 2 percentage points.