Poll: Fewer than half of Americans think Trump should be removed

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll released Thursday found that less than half of Americans polled believe Donald Trump, now the third president in U.S. history to be impeached, should be convicted in a Senate trial and removed from office.

Why it matters: The poll, conducted hours after the House charged Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, signifies that voters remain divided on impeachment and found that Wednesday's vote did little to change public opinion.

By the numbers: 42% of respondents said Congress should remove Trump, while 17% said Trump should be censured.

• 29% responded that they want impeachment charges dismissed, while the remainder said they did not have an opinion.
• On the specific impeachment charges, 53% agreed that Trump abused his office, and 51% said he obstructed Congress.
• 44% of those polled said they approve of the way the House dealt with Trump’s impeachment, while 41% disapproved.

Methodology: This poll was conducted online throughout the U.S. and gathered responses from 1,108 people between Dec. 18-19 and has a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of 3 percentage points.

Go deeper:

• Poll: Majority of Americans believe top Trump aides should testify
• Trump ahead of Democratic rivals in new poll
• Impeaching Trump is unpopular in key election states