October 17, 2016, 07:35 am
Poll: Nearly half of Trump supporters see Russia as friend to US
By Jessie Hellmann
Almost half of Donald Trump supporters consider Russia to be an ally to the U.S. or a friendly nation, a new poll shows.
While 49 percent of Trump supporters see Russia as a friend, only 24 percent in the Politico/Morning Consult Poll released Monday say they view Russia favorably.
Trump has repeatedly said he'd like to "get along" with Russia and its leader, Vladimir Putin.
Only 19 percent of Hillary Clinton's supporters view Russia favorably.
Meanwhile, only 32 percent of Republicans believe the Obama administration's conclusion that Moscow is trying to influence the presidential election, compared to the 50 percent of Democrats.
The Obama administration earlier this month blamed the Russian government for a series of recent hackings of Democratic Party and Clinton campaign emails, calling it an attempt to interfere with the U.S. election process.
But only 34 percent of respondents said the U.S. should retaliate with economic sanctions, while 33 percent opposed.
The poll was conducted among 1,999 registered voters online from Oct. 13 to Oct. 15 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
more
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/301281-poll-nearly-half-of-trump-supporters-see-russia-as-friend
