Fifty-five percent of those polled said they were either “very concerned” or “somewhat concerned” by reports of the Trump campaign’s connections to Russia. | AP Photo Poll: Majority support special prosecutor to investigate alleged Trump-Russia ties

Despite claims from the White House that no such ties exist, 65 percent of respondents to a CNN/ORC poll released Monday morning said the investigation into connections between Trump campaign associates and the Russian government should be handled by a special prosecutor.

Congressional Republicans and the administration of President Donald Trump have resisted the appointment of a special prosecutor even after Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced last week that he would recuse himself from all Justice Department investigations into alleged ties between Trump associates and Russia during last year’s presidential campaign. That announcement followed reports that Sessions had met multiple times with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. during the race, a period during which Russia was engaged in a campaign of cyberattacks intended to aid Trump’s candidacy.


Even with the ongoing controversy surrounding ties between Trump associates and Russia, the president’s approval rating remained statistically unmoved, climbing a single point — from 44 percent to 45 percent – since January’s CNN/ORC poll. Trump’s well-received address to a joint session of Congress, delivered before the CNN/ORC poll was put into the field, did not appear to boost the president’s poll numbers.

Fifty-five percent of those polled said they were either “very concerned” or “somewhat concerned” by reports of the Trump campaign’s connections to Russia, which include Sessions, former national security adviser Michael Flynn, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former campaign adviser Carter Page, among others.

More than half of the Republicans polled — 54 percent — said they have no concern “at all” about the reported ties to Russia, while 71 percent of Democrats polled said they are “very concerned.” On the question of how the investigation should be handled, 82 percent of Democrats, 67 percent of independents and 43 percent of Republicans polled said it should be conducted by a special prosecutor.

Trump’s handling of the economy remains his strongest issue: 55 percent of respondents said they approve of his handling of it, a 6-point increase over January. On issues including health care, immigration and foreign affairs, more than half of those polled disapprove of Trump’s handling.

The CNN/ORC poll was conducted from March 1-4 via landlines and cellphones, reaching 1,025 adults. The margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

