MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) - A majority of voters think it was inappropriate for President Donald Trump to share highly classified national security information with Russian officials, according to the results of a new Morning Consult/Politico poll.
Fifty-eight percent of voters said it was inappropriate for Trump to share the information, while just 22 percent said it was appropriate. Another 20 percent said they don't know or had no opinion.
The poll was conducted after a Washington Post report claimed Trump revealed highly classified information to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in a White House meeting last week.
U.S. officials told the Post that Trump described the details of an Islamic State terrorist threat related to the use of laptop computers on aircraft.
Administration officials called the premise of the report 'false,' although Trump argued he has an 'absolute right' to share information with Russian officials.
The poll found that voters were more divided on whether government officials were right or wrong to leak the news to the media.
Forty-four percent of voters said the officials were right to leak the information, while 39 percent said the officials were wrong.
The news that Trump shared intelligence with the Russians may have impacted voted confidence in the president's ability to handle highly classified national security information.
Forty-one percent of voters said they are 'not confident at all' in Trump's ability to handle classified information, and another 14 percent said they are 'not too confident.'
Meanwhile, 22 percent said they are 'very confident' in Trump's ability to handle classified information, while 17 percent said they are 'somewhat confident.'
Trump's approval rating has taken another hit amid the recent scandals, with 53 percent of voters saying they disapprove of his job performance, up from 50 percent last week.
The percentage of voters that approve of Trump's job performance has dipped to 41 percent from 42 percent, resulting in a 4-point drop in his net approval rating compared to the previous poll.
The Morning Consult/Politico survey of 1,970 registered voters was conducted May 16th through 18th and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
(Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry)
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