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Multiple Americans believe former President Donald Trump should have been indicted by a grand jury in Manhattan and should have received a historic indictment, but nearly as many said, according to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll. believes the indictment against him was politically motivated.
The poll found that 45% believe Trump should have been charged with a crime in the case, while 32% disagree and 23% don’t know.
Unsurprisingly, Democrats support the grand jury’s decision.
Nearly 9 in 10 Democrats (88%) surveyed paid $130,000 hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who claims the two had an affair, Manhattan DA survey And I think Trump should have been indicted. Trump has long denied these allegations.
Compared to Democrats, Republicans are less cohesive. An ABC News/Ipsos poll conducted using Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel found that while a majority (62%) said Trump should not have been indicted, one in five Republicans 16% said they should have been prosecuted. .
Independents are even more divided, with 2 in 5 saying they should have been prosecuted, 32% saying they shouldn’t have been, and 27% saying they don’t know.
Overall, half of Americans believe the charges are very or somewhat serious, and 36% say they are less or not at all serious. 14% said they didn’t know. Across partisans, 87% of Democrats say the accusations are very serious (49%) or moderately serious (38%), and 6 in 10 Republicans say the accusations are very serious. Not (19%) or not at all serious (41%). ).
Some of the public may be waiting to see what exactly the indictments are related to, or the specific charges Trump will face.
A source familiar with the sealed indictment told ABC News that former President Trump has been charged with about 20 crimes, including felonies. The indictment will be unsealed when Trump appears in court in New York on Tuesday.
At the same time, several Americans (47%) said the charges against the former president were politically motivated, echoing the opinion of top GOP leaders. An even larger majority of Republicans (79%) hold that view, as do several independents (48%).
Even Trump’s potential competitors have dismissed the investigation as political drama.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is also considering running for president, said the indictments were “offensive” and “angry.”
“I think this will only further divide our country at a time when the American people are suffering so much,” Pence said.
Trump told ABC News that the indictment was “political persecution” and “an attack on our country.”
Trump remains the frontrunner for his party’s nomination among Republican primary voters. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who trails Trump in the polls despite not officially announcing his candidacy, said on Saturday that “the law is a weapon for political purposes.” It’s been made into,” he said.
Only 43% of Americans think Trump should stop campaigning because of indictment, and most (57%) say it shouldn’t affect his bid (35%) or don’t know (22%).
Former Arkansas governor and Republican Asa Hutchinson broke with the party line, telling ABC News that she believes Trump should stop campaigning.
“I mean, first of all, the office is more important than the person. And for the president’s office, I think it’s too much sideshow and distraction. There is due process and a presumption of innocence,” Hutchinson said.
Yet many Americans are still adamant that Trump should be indicted for various other controversies in his orbit, with multiple criticizing his handling of classified documents and his involvement in the Capitol. It says he should be prosecuted for his actions related to the riots.
Additionally, a majority (51%) said his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election should be prosecuted. Democrats are almost unanimous on this view, with 90% thinking his efforts to change the outcome of the 2020 election should be prosecuted. Almost half of independents (49%) feel this way, but only 20% of Republicans agree with him.
While only 29% of Americans have a favorable view of Trump, President Joe Biden shares a favorable view with 32%. Both presidents see their approval ratings slipping in October 2020, when Trump’s approval rating was his 35% and Biden’s was his 44%.
Methodology — This ABC News/Ipsos poll was conducted from March 31 to April 1, 2023, using the Ipsos Public Affairs KnowledgePanel®, in English and Spanish, to randomly select 593 adults. Conducted on a national sample. The results have a margin of sampling error of 4.4 points, including design effects. Partisanship is 26-25-40%, Democrat-Republican-Independent. Learn more about the top line of findings and methodology details here.
ABC News’ Dan Merkle, Ken Goldstein, Aaron Katersky, Katherine Faulders, and John Santucci contributed to this report.I
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