Is Trump’s group chat worse than Hillary Clinton’s emails? Poll shows how Americans compare scandals
American adults believe the scandal enveloping the Trump administration over military plans discussed over group text is more serious than the email controversy that derailed Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, according to a poll released Wednesday.
Nearly 75% of U.S. adults believe the Trump scandal is “very” or “somewhat” serious, the YouGov survey found, with 53% in the “very serious” camp and 21% viewing the scandal as “somewhat serious.”
While a majority of U.S. adults believed Clinton using a private email server from home was “very” or “somewhat” serious, the margins were far slimmer compared to the Trump scandal.
When the Clinton scandal was polled by YouGov in 2015, 30% of American adults viewed it as “very serious” and 26% said it was “somewhat serious.”
By 2022, Americans grew more concerned over Clinton’s emails, with 41% describing the matter as “very serious” and 21% labeling it “somewhat serious.”
One of the chief concerns about Clinton’s email server was that it was insecure, and that sensitive information could fall into the wrong hands. But former FBI Director James Comey said in recommending that no charges be brought against Clinton that there was no evidence that her email account had been hacked by hostile actors.
A majority of self-identified Republicans find the Trump scandal concerning, the latest YouGov poll found.
About one in three Republicans called the Trump scandal “very serious” while 32% found it to be “somewhat serious.”
By contrast, Democrats downplayed the Clinton email scandal both in 2015 (36% “very” or “somewhat” serious) and 2022 (40% “very” or “somewhat” serious.)
A plurality — 48% — of U.S. adults believe Trump administration officials broke the law by describing a U.S. military operation in Yemen over Signal — a conversation that Atlantic editor-in-chief was apparently inadvertently invited to view.
While Republicans claimed the media was blowing the Trump matter out of proportion, Americans (37%) say the press is “not making enough of a big deal about” the scandal than those who say the media is “making too big a deal” (22%), according to the poll.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.