A recent poll shows Americans are deeply divided along party lines in their assessment of President Donald Trump’s actions in the wake of recent criminal charges against him. About half of them say his alleged attempt to interfere with Georgia’s 2020 vote-counting process was illegal.
The poll, conducted by The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research before the Georgia indictment was filed on Monday, also shows that about half of Americans — 53 percent — agree with the decision. of the Justice Department to indict Mr. Trump over his efforts to stay in power after losing the 2020 election.
According to the poll, 85 percent of Democrats agree with the charges filed Aug. 2 by special counsel Jack Smith, compared with 47 percent of independent voters and 16 percent of Republicans. Overall, 3 in 10 Americans disagree with the charges, including about two-thirds of Republicans.
The poll suggests that the unprecedented indictments against a former president have done little to polarize the American electorate: Most Americans disagree with Mr. Trump, but he remains popular among Republicans.
Overall, 35% of Americans approve of Mr. Trump and 62% disapprove. Within the Republican camp, however, 7 out of 10 of them evaluate the former President positively, while 6 out of 10 say they want him to run for the White House again.
The survey was conducted on August 10-14. At the time the poll was conducted, 51 percent of Americans believed Mr. Trump had acted illegally in the Georgia case, including about 16 percent of Republicans.
Mr. Trump denies having committed any wrongdoing and says that the charges against him are politically motivated, while he is running against President Biden.
Only about 2 in 10 Americans — about 17% — say they have “a lot” of trust in Justice Department leaders. This low level of trust extends across the political spectrum; only 26 percent of Democrats, 14 percent of independents and 7 percent of Republicans say they have confidence in the law enforcement agency. About half of Americans have “some” faith in the Justice Department, and about a third “have no faith in it at all.” Republicans trust the Justice Department less than Democrats, 48 percent to 18 percent.
“It’s clear that Mr. Trump is running for president, and this current administration is doing its best to arrest his political rival and put him in jail,” said Cary Arnold, 56, a Republican from Maryland. “Even superficially, this gives a very bad impression. Something like this is expected to be seen in third countries, which are led by dictators.”
Mr. Trump’s actions have not crossed the line to merit criminal charges, he says.
“I didn’t see anything illegal,” says Mr. Arnold. “I know people say he’s done illegal things, but none of the things they’re saying makes sense to him.”
Four criminal indictments have been filed against Mr. Trump since April, but for Americans these indictments do not carry the same weight.
While about half believe Mr. Trump did something illegal in the January 6 riots and the Georgia case, including the case involving classified documents found at his Florida home, only about a third respondents say Mr. Trump acted illegally when he allegedly hid a payment to a woman who says he had an affair with him to buy her silence.
54 percent of respondents think that with his actions after the 2020 presidential election, Mr. Trump has damaged democracy, 19 percent say no and a quarter do not believe in either option. Republicans are split on the impact of Mr Trump’s actions: 43% say he has protected democracy, while 23% say he has threatened it. About a third of Republicans don’t believe in either option.
“Mr. Trump and many of his supporters say the indictments are intended to hurt him in this election,” said 60-year-old Florida Republican David Biggar, who has voted against Mr. Trump twice. “But I think he is being investigated for actions for which he should be judged”, he adds.
Americans largely disagree with Mr. Trump’s claim that the 2020 election was stolen. Seven out of 10 Americans say President Biden is the legitimately elected president. But among Republican voters, 57 percent say Mr. Biden’s election was illegitimate, compared with 32 percent of independents and 2 percent of Democrats.
According to Ms. Treasa Howell, a 58-year-old Republican from Missouri, many of the accusations against Mr. Trump ring true, but she believes they are motivated by politics more than justice and that Mr. Trump is making an example.
“Honestly, I don’t think anyone in the political arena plays 100% fair,” says Ms. Howell. “It seems to me that it is a political indictment, but I fully believe that it is true. And that’s the problem I have with Mr. Trump.”
But if Mr. Trump secures the nomination from the Republican party and faces Mr. Biden again, “albeit hesitantly, I would vote for him,” she says.
