Nearly half of likely American voters say they believe the FBI is acting as President Joe Biden’s “personal gestapo,” according to a new poll.
Americans’ approval of the FBI has declined over the past two years, with many voters believing the agency acts on behalf of Biden, according to the results of a Rasmussen Reports national survey. Just 46% of likely voters say they have a favorable impression of the FBI, down from 60% in May 2020.
Republicans were more likely to disapprove of the agency, with 57% saying they have an unfavorable opinion of the FBI while 63% of Democrats said they have a favorable impression of the agency.
Moreover, when asked whether they agreed with a statement made by Roger Stone, former political adviser to former President Donald Trump, that “there is a group of politicized thugs at the top of the FBI” that are acting “as Joe Biden’s personal Gestapo,” 46% of all likely voters say they agree.
Republicans were much more likely to agree with the characterization, with 64% saying the FBI acts as Biden’s “personal gestapo” compared to only 30% of Democrats.
Voters’ approval of Biden correlated strongly with approval of the FBI, with 86% of voters who “strongly approve” of Biden’s job performance having a favorable opinion of the FBI, according to the poll. Among voters who say they “strongly disapprove” of Biden’s tenure as president, just 19% say they view the FBI favorably.
The poll also found that half of all voters believe current FBI director Christopher Wray is influenced by Biden when making decisions, and only 26% believe Wray to be independent of the president’s influence.
The poll surveyed 1,000 likely voters from Dec. 29 to Dec. 30, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3%.