by Eric Lendrum
A new poll shows that a sizable plurality of the American people believe that the New York trial of former President Donald Trump was a politically-motivated show trial.
As the Daily Caller reports, the ABC News/Ipsos poll shows that 47 percent of Americans believe the trial was indeed a political hit job, while 38 percent say that the trial was legitimate and fair. On the question of the “guilty” verdict, 50 percent of respondents believe the verdict was correct; by contrast, just 27 percent believe the verdict was wrong, while the remaining 23 percent said they “don’t know” what to believe with regards to the verdict.
Among those who claimed to have followed the case closely, 55 percent say the verdict was correct while 35 percent say it was incorrect; another 8 percent said they “don’t know.”
After the verdict was announced, 49 percent of respondents said that Trump should end his campaign for re-election. Among partisan lines, just 16 percent of Republicans said Trump should drop out while 75 percent want him to continue his candidacy. Among Democrats, 79 percent want Trump to drop out now, while 52 percent of independents say the same thing.
The same poll also showed that the trial and its outcome have had virtually no effect on Trump’s approval ratings, and may have even led to a slight increase. While the former president had a 29 percent favorability in March, his favorability currently sits at 31 percent. Biden’s favorability is at 32 percent, a slight decrease from 33 percent in March.
The poll featured a sample size of 781 American adults, and was conducted from May 31st to June 1st. The margin of error is 3.7 percent.
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Eric Lendrum graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was the Secretary of the College Republicans and the founding chairman of the school’s Young Americans for Freedom chapter. He has interned for Young America’s Foundation, the Heritage Foundation, and the White House, and has worked for numerous campaigns including the 2018 re-election of Congressman Devin Nunes (CA-22). He is currently a co-host of The Right Take podcast.
