AP-NORC poll: 56% say Trump has prioritised his business

An AP-NORC poll found 56% of U.S. adults said Donald Trump had placed substantial emphasis on his personal businesses, while 54% said the same about his friends’ and family’s business interests. Results were published on Oct. 13.

About six in 10 respondents believed the president was benefiting from office illegally or unethically. Roughly four in 10 chose illegal conduct and two in 10 chose unethical but not illegal conduct. These are respondents’ perceptions, not findings that a violation has been proved.

About two in 10 thought Trump was doing nothing wrong. A similar share said they did not know enough about the allegations to judge.

Responses differed sharply by political affiliation. About eight in 10 Democrats, three in 10 independents and one in 10 Republicans believed the conduct was illegal.

The White House rejects accusations that the president and his family business benefit from his position, and says there is no conflict of interest.

The survey interviewed 2,140 adults on Sept. 24-28 using NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel. Those September fieldwork dates differ from the publication date.