What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending October 28, 2017

Mainstream media outlets haven’t quite caught up with this week’s turn in Special Prosecutor Richard Mueller’s Russian collusion investigation as news reports now show that the Clinton campaign was working with Russian sources to dig up dirt on then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

With the Clinton Foundation and Hillary Clinton’s campaign coming under increasing investigative scrutiny for their ties to Russia, just over half of voters now think something illegal was going on. 

Voters are still concerned about the Trump administration's Russia connection, but nine months into the Trump presidency worries about national security have now jumped to the top of the list of voter concerns as well.  

After an ambush in Niger left four U.S. soldiers dead earlier this month, many legislators questioned the number of U.S. troops around the world. But while most voters continue to believe American soldiers shouldn’t be in places where it isn’t vital to the country's national interest, that number has dipped to its lowest level in years. 

Most voters said they already think our military is stretched too thin and don’t want the United States policing the world.

Domestically, the murder trial of the illegal immigrant who allegedly murdered Kate Steinle, the woman behind “Kate’s Law,” began this week, and the topic of sanctuary cities has become a focal point in upcoming state gubernatorial campaigns. But while voters don’t believe sanctuary communities are safe, they’re less enthusiastic about taking legal action against them.

Criticism of the Trump presidency took a new turn October 19 when former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush bemoaned the current state of politics in America in remarks many interpreted as aimed at President Trump. Voters strongly agree with what they had to say.

We’ll tell you next week what voters think about Republicans in Congress publicly criticizing the president of their own party.

Meanwhile, American families adjusting to the new school year are grappling with familiar problems.

Some school districts in New Jersey are now doing away with homework at the elementary level, but most Americans continue to believe that homework is an essential learning tool.

While just over half of voters continue to believe textbooks in schools try too hard to be politically correct, that number has fallen to its lowest level in nearly five years of surveying.

Under a new law that went into effect this month, parents in a community in western New York could face fines and jail time if their child bullies other minors. Most adults nationwide agree bullying is a major problem and support such a law in their state.

Despite ongoing concerns about their safety, adults are still adamant that students should be vaccinated before going to school.

In other surveys last week:

-- Data breaches at major companies like the recent one at credit reporting firm Equifax are happening more frequently, and a sizable number of Americans admit to being a victim of a cyber attack. 

-- Allegations of rape, harassment, assault and decades-long sexual misconduct toward women by mega Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein have rocked Tinseltown. While the sheer volume and lewd details of Weinstein's alleged actions may be shocking, revelations of sexual deviance and exploitation in liberal Hollywood are hardly new. Join us this week as the Rasmussen Minute goes behind the scenes of what has become a true Hollywood horror show.

-- Amid renewed conversations about sexual harassment and gender equality in the workplace and beyond, very few Americans—men and women alike—think it’s better to be a woman than a man in society today.

-- Megyn Kelly’s new NBC morning show isn’t raking in the ratings, possibly because Americans aren’t the biggest fans of Kelly herself. 

-- 33% Say U.S. Heading in Right Direction

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