Do Americans think Mueller’s probe is a witch hunt? Depends on how you ask.

Dissecting why a new poll finds more skepticism about the probe than others

On Monday, President Trump tweeted about a new survey finding released earlier in the day. He said that a poll found that “50% of Americans AGREE that Robert Mueller’s investigation is a Witch Hunt.” That claim is in line with the USA Today report. But a close look at the survey and other recent polling suggests it may overstate the public’s skepticism of the Mueller probe.

Here’s how the question was asked: “President Trump has called the Special Counsel’s investigation a ‘witch hunt’ and said he’s been subjected to more investigations than previous presidents because of politics. Do you agree?”

There are a lot of ways to ask a question such as this, and it’s useful to measure whether Americans share Trump’s skepticism of the Mueller investigation. But this question and its interpretation skirt a couple of best practices for opinion-poll question wording, as highlighted by Monmouth University Polling Institute director Patrick Murray in several tweets.

View the complete March 18 article by Emily Guskin and Scott Clement on The Washington Post website here.