WASHINGTON − Former President Donald Trump’s legal problems could bring serious risks to his candidacy ahead of the 2024 election, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll.
The poll found 45% of Republican respondents said they would not support Trump if he were convicted of a felony while 52% of those same respondents said they would not support Trump if he were currently serving time in prison.
The former president faced his third arraignment on Thursday afternoon − this time in a Washington D.C. court house after being indicted on four charges alleging he attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges which alleged he organized a wide-ranging conspiracy to steal the 2020 election and fueled an historic insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
He faces two other indictments − one a state case in New York involving hush money payments to an adult film star and the other a federal case in Florida alleging obstruction of justice and improper retention of classified documents.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll also found Republicans are less likely than Democrats or Americans overall to believe the charges in the third indictment, specifically that Trump solicited election fraud, incited a mob on Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol or was involved in a scheme with fake electors.
Nearly half of Americans say the charges against him are politically motivated, according to the poll, and a majority of Republicans, 56%, strongly agree that they are.
Despite Trump’s legal problems, the poll found the former president still holds a lead in the crowded GOP field − 47% of Republicans polled said they would support him as the Republican presidential nominee.
Reuters/Ipsos conducted the poll between Aug. 2 to Aug. 3 and sampled 1,005 adults including Democrats, Republicans and Independents. The margin of error is plus or minus 5.7 percentage points for Democrats, plus or minus 6.4 percentage points for Republicans and plus or minus 11.1 percentage points for independents.
