Jun 23, 2017 - Politics & Policy

Comey version of firing more trusted than Trump's

Steven Senne / AP; Alex Brandon / AP

Two times as many Americans believe former FBI Director James Comey's version of events surrounding his firing than President Trump's, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

  • By the numbers: 45% of Americans believe Comey while 22% believe Trump. The partisan breakdown is just as stark as you'd expect with Democrats preferring Comey's version of events by a 76-2 margin and Republicans siding with Trump 50-10. Independents preferred Comey's story 47-17.
  • A head scratcher: 8% of Americans say that they believe both — so different that they prompted the hiring of Bob Mueller as special counsel for the Russia investigation — versions of events.
  • Speaking of Russia: The poll also found that Americans believe that Russia interfered in the 2016 election by a 53-36 margin — with the results predictably skewed along the same partisan lines as the Comey/Trump question.

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Axios
Updated 23 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Politics: The swing states where the pandemic is raging — Pence no longer expected to attend Barrett confirmation vote after COVID exposure.
  2. Health: 13 states set single-day case records last week
  3. Business: Where stimulus is needed most.
  4. Education: The dangerous instability of school re-openings.
  5. States: Nearly two dozen Minnesota COVID cases traced to 3 Trump campaign events
  6. World: Restrictions grow across Europe.
  7. Media: Fox News president and several hosts advised to quarantine.
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Rebecca Falconer
54 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Republicans and Dems react to Coney Barrett's Supreme Court confirmation

President Trump stands with Judge Amy Coney Barrett after she took the constitutional oath to serve as a Supreme Court justice during a White House ceremony Monday night .Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

President Trump said Judge Amy Coney Barrett's Senate confirmation to the Supreme Court and her subsequent taking of the constitutional oath Monday was a "momentous day," as she she vowed to serve "without any fear or favour."

  • But as Republicans applauded the third conservative justice in four years, many Democrats including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) warned of consequences to the rush to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ahead of the Nov. 3 election, with progressives leading calls to expand the court.
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Ina Fried, author of Login
1 hour ago - Science

CRISPR pioneer: "Science is on the ballot" in 2020

Photo: "Axios on HBO"

In her three decades in science, Jennifer Doudna said she has seen a gradual erosion of trust in the profession, but the recent Nobel Prize winner told "Axios on HBO" that the institution itself has been under assault from the current administration.

  • "I think science is on the ballot," Doudna said in the interview.

Why it matters: That has manifested itself in everything from how the federal government approaches climate change to the pandemic.

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