Poll: 6 in 10 say Trump fired Comey to protect himself

A majority of Americans think President Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey to protect himself, according to a new poll.

An ABC News/Washington Post poll finds 61 percent of Americans think Trump fired Comey to protect himself. Just 27 percent think Trump’s decision to fire Comey was for the good of the country.

Fifty-six percent of Americans also think Trump is trying to interfere with the Russia investigations, compared with 34 percent who think the president is cooperating.

{mosads}Nearly three-quarters of respondents say they have just some or no trust in what Trump says about the Russia probe, compared with 21 percent who say they have a great deal or good amount of trust in the president’s comments on the investigations.

Fifty-five percent of Americans say they have some or no trust in what Comey says about the Russian interference.

The poll was conducted from June 2 to 4 among 527 adults. The margin of error is 5 percentage points.

The poll comes as Washington braces for Comey’s appearance Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The public on Thursday could hear for the first time the degree to which Comey, who was fired last month, thought the White House was trying to influence the FBI probe into Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential race.

Trump has in the past decried the Russia probe as a “witch hunt” and has dismissed the investigation as an excuse by Democrats for losing the presidential race.