New York Times/Siena College polling shows that most people think Trump committed “serious federal crimes” while in office.
While 39% of respondents denied that Trump was involved in any major crimes, 53% of those who are inclined to vote agree with this statement. Nine percent either didn’t know the answer or chose not to answer at all.
According to the data that is divided down by party affiliation, 90% of Democrats and 17% of Republicans think he has committed severe crimes. The percentage of independents who felt this way was 49%.
On Monday, jury selection will begin in Trump’s trial in latest York, which has set the stage for a historic presidential contest, and the latest poll arrives at the same time. For the first time in American history, a sitting president will face criminal charges in the coming months. This will finally bring into sharp focus the much anticipated confrontation between Trump’s legal woes and his campaign to reclaim the presidency. Saturday night’s event in Pennsylvania will be the former president’s last campaign appearance before a judge limits his travel.
The New York trial of Trump is based on allegations that he hid a hush-money payment he made to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election by altering company documents. As he has attacked the investigation as a political witch hunt, he has maintained his denial of the accusations.
Respondents who were asked directly about this case showed a split: 46% think Trump should be found guilty and 37% think he should be found not guilty. Seventeen percent of those who cast ballots indicated they were unsure or chose not to respond.
Independents, who are less inclined to back the former president in this matter, might do more harm than good to Trump if he were convicted in the Manhattan case, according to recent polls. While it might not determine whether he is re-elected president or not, it certainly hurts his reputation with some voters.
From April 7-11, a total of 1,059 eligible voters across the country participated in the survey, with 875 completing all questions. There is a margin of error of 3.9 percentage points for likely voters among those who completed the full survey.