Most Republicans believe Russia is
meddling in U.S. election: Reuters/Ipsos poll
Send a link to a friend
[October 28, 2016]
By Alana Wise
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most Republicans
believe Russia is attempting to influence the U.S. presidential
election, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, despite comments by the
party’s nominee, Donald Trump, downplaying the possibility.
Some 55 percent of U.S. adults, including 51 percent of Republicans and
65 percent of Democrats, said they thought Russia was trying to tip the
scales in the Nov. 8 presidential election, according to the survey.
Most American adults - 62 percent of Democrats and 48 percent of
Republicans - think Putin is supporting Trump for the White House, the
poll found.
Some 71 percent of those who suspect Russia of meddling believe Moscow
is doing so through the recent hacks of Democratic emails, according to
the Oct. 18-24 survey. But 57 percent of those who suspect Russian
interference also believe Trump has "no involvement in Russia’s release
of unflattering information" on his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Oct/28/images/ads/current/Martin_Farms_daily_sda_2015.png)
The U.S. government has accused Russia of a campaign of cyber attacks
targeting the Democratic Party that has led to the release of thousands
of illegally obtained emails, revealing the sometimes unflattering inner
workings of the party, Clinton's campaign, and her family's charitable
foundation.
Clinton has said she believes the Kremlin is trying to help Trump,
calling her rival a "puppet" of the Russian leader. Trump has declined
to implicate the country in any wrongdoing.
"I don't think anybody knows it was Russia that broke into the
(Democratic National Committee)," Trump said during the first
presidential debate last month. He suggested the culprit could be anyone
from Russia, to China or even "a 400-pound person lying in bed."
Russia has denied it sponsors or encourages hacking activity. Russian
President Vladimir Putin accused U.S. politicians on Thursday of
whipping up "hysteria" about a nonexistent threat in order to distract
voters.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/102816pics/news_n23.jpg)
Donald Trump's campaign plane passes Hillary Clinton's campaign
plane as it lands in Las Vegas, Nevada, October 18, 2016.
REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
![](../images/ads/current/richardson_lda_090916.png)
Putin, who has described Trump as "very talented," said on Thursday
the New York businessman "behaves extravagantly" to "get through to
voters' hearts."
Trump has said he is not close with Putin, but has also said he
believes the Russian president is a stronger leader than U.S.
President Barack Obama.
Already chilly relations between the United States and Russia have
deteriorated over disagreements over the conflicts in Ukraine and
Syria.
U.S. officials say U.S. agencies have concluded that two Russian
intelligence agencies - the military's GRU and the civilian foreign
intelligence agency, the FSB - are behind U.S. political hacking,
particularly that directed against Democratic Party organizations
and individuals.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online in English, and included
2,008 American adults. It had a credibility interval, a measure of
accuracy, of 3 percentage points.
(Additional reporting by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Peter Cooney)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Oct/28/images/ads/current/almh_lda_Ffarm_2015.png) |