On Monday, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) appeared on MSNBC, and told host Chris Hayes that “70% of women who have been polled said that they want him impeached.”
HAYES: I know that you substantively feel he has committed impeachable offenses.
WATERS: That’s right. That’s right.
HAYES: Are you not persuaded by the idea that it would be a tactical mistake politically [inaudible]?
WATERS: No, I’m not persuaded by that idea. Do you know why? Because I tell you, everywhere I go people are talking about – “Why can’t you all get rid of him? Why don’t they impeach him? What’s wrong with the other members of Congress? Why don’t they stand up with you? This man is dishonorable. He lies all the time. He’s a con man.” They say all of these things and I’m not just talking about my district. Whether I am on the airplane, I’m walking down the street in New York – wherever I am, I’m hearing it. And I’m told that 70% of women who have been polled say that they want him impeached.
It’s incredibly easy to toss out a statistic, and act as though it’s the gospel truth. Is that really true? After a thorough Google search, The Daily Wire cannot find any poll suggesting that “70% of women” want Trump impeached.
An October 2017 survey conducted by Public Policy Polling (PPP) found that 55% of women “favored” impeaching Trump. 572 registered voters participated in the poll, which had a margin of error of +/- 4.1%.
A Morning Consult/Politico survey conducted in late-March found that 42% of women believe Congress “should begin impeachment proceedings to remove President Trump from office.” 74% of self-identified “Democratic women” said the same. 1,997 registered voters participated in the poll, which had a margin of error of +/- 2%. It should be noted that 74% of Democratic women is not the same as 70% of women at large.
An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist survey conducted between April 10 – 13 found that 49% of women would “definitely vote for … a candidate for Congress who wants to move to impeach President Trump.” 1,011 adults participated in the poll (827 of whom were registered voters), which had a margin of error of +/- 3.6 to 3.9%.
A November 2017 Quinnipiac survey asked participants: “As you may know, President Trump has been accused of sexual harassment by multiple women, and is currently being sued by one of them in a defamation lawsuit. He has denied all of the accusations. If it is proven true that President Trump sexually harassed this or any other woman, do you think he should be impeached and removed from office or not?” 65% of women responded “yes” to that very specific impeachment question.
A December 2017 PRRI survey found that “women are split over impeachment, with equal numbers supporting (48%) and opposing (48%) it.”
The Daily Wire called the office of Rep. Waters multiple times in order to verify the statistic, and were told that communications director, Rykia Dorsey, was busy. We emailed Dorsey twice on Wednesday, twice on Thursday, and once on Friday, but have received no response.