More than half of voters surveyed in a new Quinnipiac University national poll said they think President Donald Trump's administration has not given an honest accounting of the shooting death of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis over a week ago, and most think an independent investigation should be conducted.
"We need more facts and an independent investigation is the way to get them, say voters who cast doubt on the honesty of the account of how Alex Pretti ended up dead on a Minneapolis street," Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy commented about the results of the poll. The poll surveyed 1,191 self-identified registered voters nationwide from Jan. 29 to Feb. 2.
The poll found that 61% of respondents said the Trump administration has not given an honest account of the incident, while 25% said the administration has been honest.
The results varied widely by party, with 93% of Democrat voters saying they think there has not been an honest accounting and 2% thinking the reports have been honest.
Among Republicans, 60% said there has been an honest accounting, compared with 19% who said it has been dishonest, while among independents, 65% said the administration has been dishonest and 20% said the reports have been honest.
The poll carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.
Meanwhile, 80% said they think there should be an independent investigation into the shooting, with 15% saying one is not needed.
In other findings, 78% of the respondents said they have seen video footage of the fatal shooting, and 21% said they have not.
A majority, 62%, said they don't think Pretti's shooting was justified, 22% said they think it was justified, and 16% did not offer an opinion.
Meanwhile, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement got low marks among poll respondents, with 59% saying they think recent shootings in Minneapolis are a sign of larger problems, and 32% said the shootings of Pretti and Renee Good were isolated incidents.
ICE's efforts in enforcing immigration laws also saw lower marks among voters, with 63% saying they disapprove of the agency's methods and 34% saying they approve, for a drop from results in January, when 40% approved and 57% disapproved.
Meanwhile, 60% of voters said they think ICE should pull out of Minneapolis, while 36% said they think it should continue its operations there.
The poll also showed low approval numbers for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and President Donald Trump.
Nearly six out of 10 voters, at 58%, said they think Noem should be removed from her job, and 34% think she should stay.
This marked a "strong no-confidence vote for the beleaguered top cop at Homeland Security whose agency's job performance is considered dismal enough by voters that she should be let go," said Malloy.
As for Trump, 37% of voters said they approve of how he is handling his job, compared to 56% disapproving.
In Quinnipiac’s January poll, 43% approved of Trump, while 53% disapproved.
Trump's numbers on immigration matters and foreign policy also got low marks.
On immigration, 38% said they approve and 59% said they disapprove, while on foreign policy, 37% said they approve and 58% said they disapprove.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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