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According to an ABC News/Ipsos poll published on Sunday, nearly half of Americans (45%) believe former US President Donald Trump should be charged with a crime following his indictment last week on charges related to his alleged payment of hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels.
A little more than a third (32%) of poll respondents believe Trump should not be charged, while 23% are still undecided, according to the survey, which was conducted from Thursday to Saturday. At the same time, exactly half of those polled thought Thursday’s indictment, which is still sealed, was serious.
Responses were heavily influenced by political affiliation: 87% of Democrats, 43% of independents, and 29% of Republicans consider the allegations against Trump to be “serious.”
Similarly, while 47% agreed the charges against the ex-president were politically motivated, 79% of Republicans and 16% of Democrats agreed. In the case of independents, the figure was 48%.
Americans polled on Trump’s alleged witch huntREAD MORE Americans polled on Trump’s alleged witch hunt
While the former president has been charged with a number of crimes, some of which are felonies, the indictment is sealed and will remain so until Trump is arraigned on Tuesday. 49% of poll respondents thought he should face additional charges for his alleged incitement of the January 6 riot at the Capitol, while 51% thought he should face charges for challenging the results of the 2020 US election.
Trump’s lawyer has questioned the validity of the expected charges and whether Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has jurisdiction, while Trump has questioned Judge Juan Merchan’s impartiality, claiming that he “hates” him. Merchan presided over the Trump Organization’s recent guilty verdict.
More than half of those polled – 57% – believe Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign should not be halted solely because of the indictment, and the reality TV star turned politician has vowed to run regardless of what he has called “political persecution.”
According to the Daily Mail, the charges sparked a massive influx of donations, and the would-be 47th president plans to sell merchandise printed with his mugshot if he is arrested. Some, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, have suggested that an arrest could backfire on President Joe Biden’s administration, giving the Republican a “landslide victory.”
Several polls in recent weeks have shown Trump losing ground to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has not officially declared his candidacy for president in 2024. Trump, on the other hand, has surged ahead significantly since the indictment, with a Yahoo-YouGov poll released Saturday showing a 26-point lead over his former protégé.
