President Donald Trump suffered a three-point slump in his overall approval rating following the release of special counsel Robert Mueller's report into election meddling, according to a Reuters/IPSOS poll released Friday.
The president's favorability dropped to 37 percent—his lowest mark of the year, according to the analysis. About 1,000 people were surveyed, including 353 Democrats, 344 Republicans and 210 Independents.
The number represents a three percentage point slip since April 15 and a six-point drop since the last week of March. As expected, the president's reputation suffered mostly with Democrats.
As the lead up to the 2016 election demonstrated, polls are not always conclusive. But the data offered a glimpse into how the Trump administration is weathering the controversy surrounding the Thursday release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's redacted report, which detailed the nearly two-year investigation into Russian election meddling and allegations that Trump obstructed justice.
While the special counsel's office declined to reach a conclusion on the obstruction of justice allegations, the 448-page document was still bruising for the administration, as it did not fully exonerate the president or those within his inner circle.
"If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state," Mueller wrote in the report. "Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, however, we are unable to reach that judgment."
The report also identified 10 possible incidences of potential obstruction of justice involving Trump — including a 2017 attempt to fire Mueller — stating that there had been "multiple acts by the President that were capable of exerting undue influence over law enforcement investigations."
About 50 percent of respondents said they "strongly agreed" or "somewhat agreed" that members of the Republican Party and the White House worked to delegitimize the FBI and Department of Justice during the Mueller investigation.
When asked if the report's release changed their minds about the Trump administration, 70 percent said "no." Of those who said "yes," 68 percent indicated they were now "more likely to believe that President Trump or someone close to him broke the law." That's a significant jump from the 49 percent of respondents who answered similarly in March.
Trump, meanwhile, has spent the last few days tweeting his disdain for the special counsel's report, continuing to characterize it as a smear campaign meant to undermine the legitimacy of his presidency.
"Despite the fact that the Mueller Report should not have been authorized in the first place & was written as nastily as possible by 13 (18) Angry Democrats who were true Trump Haters, including highly conflicted Bob Mueller himself, the end result is No Collusion, No Obstruction!," he wrote in a Saturday morning tweet.
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