More voters from every party are viewing Russia positively, just days before President Trump is scheduled to meet Russia President Vladimir Putin, a new poll shows.
According to a Morning Consult/Politico poll released Thursday, 29 percent of all registered voters see Russia as an “ally or friendly” to the U.S.
The number of those holding this positive view increased 7 percentage points from a poll conducted a month earlier, when 22 percent had that opinion.
This trend continued for Republicans, Democrats and independents. Republicans and Democrats both saw an increase in those who saw Russia as a friend by about 10 percent. However, a majority in each party still see Russia as an enemy.
Independents are less swayed, with only 3 percent more respondents seeing Russia as a friend.
Mr. Trump said at a NATO press conference that he sees the country as a competitor, not an enemy.
As many speculate how the president will handle the foreign leader, Mr. Trump confirmed he would ask Mr. Putin about Russian interference in American elections.
Mr. Trump told the press at a joint conference with Britain Prime Minister Theresa May that while he doesn’t expect Russia to own up to meddling, he will bring it up.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin will meet Monday in Helsinki.
The data was presented by comparing two Morning Consult/Politico poll conducted from June 12-14 and July 6-10. The margin of error for these surveys is plus or minus 2 percentage points.
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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