President Donald Trump's claim that he was wiretapped has been widely debunked by the media, intelligence agencies, and even the FBI. But that's not enough to convince his most loyal supporters that he's wrong.
According to a CBS poll, 74 percent of Republicans think it was either somewhat likely or very likely that Trump's offices were wiretapped or under government surveillance. They're the group that gives Trump the most benefit of the doubt. Overall, less than 50 percent of respondents said that Trump was tapped.
Of course, most of Trump's fans — 84 percent of Republicans — think that he's doing a good job as president. That's the only group that gives him a net positive rating. Eighty-one percent of Democrats, and 56 percent of independents disapprove of his performance.
Republicans also wanted the FBI to turn a blind eye to connections between Trump associates and the Russian government by a 59-35 margin.
When it comes to Trump supporters, there is a possibility that they know that Trump wasn't wiretapped, but still say they believe him in order to shake things up.
The Toronto Star caught up with Trump supporters in an Ohio county where he won "more than 60 percent of the vote" and asked them what they thought of Trump's lies.
“He’s ruffling every feather in Washington that he can ruffle. These guys are scrambling. So: yeah! I like it. I think it’s a good thing. I want to see them jump around a little bit,” an unemployed 58-year-old construction worker told The Star. Said another: “I think Trump just did that to freak them out — they were giving him bad times, so he gave them bad times. Mess with their brains. I like that, because we’ve had so much crap in Washington for years, and now we have someone shaking ’em up really good.”
One group of Trump supporters are still trusting him, because, as Robert Duffy, 73, from Zanesville, Ohio put it, “Trump would have never said that (Obama wiretapped him) unless it was true . . . . That’s too much of a gamble for him to take. His reputation, you know?”
See the full poll from CBS News below.
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