Rasmussen Poll: Plurality Dissatisfied With AG Garland

A new Rasmussen Reports poll released Friday found 44% of voters viewed Attorney General Merrick Garland unfavorably on the same day he named U.S. Attorney David Weiss of Delaware as special counsel in the investigation of Hunter Biden.

According to the poll, a 44% plurality had an unfavorable view of President Joe Biden's attorney general, including 32% who see him “very unfavorably.”

In comparison, 36% of likely voters have a favorable view of Garland, with half of that, 18%, seeing him "very favorably," and another 21% saying they were not sure.

The survey of 1,019 likely U.S. voters was conducted Aug. 8-10 by Pulse Opinion research and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

While most Republicans, 52%, have a very unfavorable view of Garland, an almost similar number of Democrats, 53%, see him in a very favorable light, including 30% who see him "very favorably."

According to the survey, unaffiliated voters are more evenly split, with 33% seeing Garland at least somewhat favorably, another 33% seeing him "very unfavorably," and 23% saying they are not sure.

Some 43% of voters say he is doing a worse job than his predecessors, compared to 24% who say he is doing better, and 23% who say he is doing about the same as those before him.

The poll comes out as Garland elevated Weiss, who has been investigating Hunter Biden since 2018, to be special counsel.

"On Tuesday of this week, Mr. Weiss advised me that in his judgment, his investigation has reached a stage at which he should continue his work as a special counsel, and he asked to be so appointed," Garland said in a statement Friday. "Upon considering his request, as well as the extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter, I have concluded it is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel.

"This appointment confirms my commitment to provide Mr. Weiss all the resources he requests. It also reaffirms that Mr. Weiss has the authority he needs to conduct a thorough investigation and to continue to take the steps he deems appropriate independently, based only on the facts and the law."

The Washington Post reported that the appointment also came as federal prosecutors and Hunter Biden's legal team reached an impasse on a possible plea deal relating to federal tax and gun charges against the younger Biden.

That development could bode ill for President Joe Biden in the 2024 race.

"On balance, I'm sure that this did not land well at the White House," David Axelrod, a Democratic consultant who was President Barack Obama's chief strategist, told the publication. "There are elements of it that complicate things for the Republicans as well, but it's fair to say that nobody on Team Biden is eager for Hunter's case to be extending into the election year."