On Trump's trial, voters aren't buying what the GOP is selling
Donald Trump and his allies set out to convince the public his ongoing criminal trial is meritless. New polling suggests they've failed completely.
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-trial-voters-arent-buying-gop-selling-rcna149378
The latest national poll from Quinnipiac University, for example, asked respondents about the trial and the charges of falsifying business records, including a hush money payment to a porn star. A combined total of 60% of the public said they consider the charges either very or somewhat serious, though that probably wasnt the result that raised eyebrows at Mar-a-Lago.
Forty-six percent of voters believe former President Trump did something illegal, while 27 percent believe he did something unethical but nothing illegal, and 18 percent believe he did not do anything wrong. Voters were asked how it would impact their vote if Donald Trump were convicted in the New York City criminal trial. If Trump were convicted, 21 percent say they would be less likely to vote for him, 62 percent say it would not make a difference to their vote, and 15 percent say they would be more likely to vote for him.
In other words, as Trump insists he did absolutely nothing wrong in this criminal case, only about a fifth of the public believes him.
This is roughly consistent with the latest national survey from the Pew Research Center, the results of which were also released this week. It found that 45% of Americans believe that Trumps actions were illegal, while an additional 15% see the Republicans actions as wrong but not illegal. Only 23% agreed with the former presidents contention that he did nothing wrong.
This data comes on the heels of the latest national New York Times/Siena College poll, conducted shortly before the trial began in earnest, and which asked respondents, Thinking about the investigations into Donald Trump, do you think that Donald Trump has or has not committed any serious federal crimes?
A 54% majority said the presumptive GOP nominee has committed serious crimes, while 37% said the opposite......
But if Trump and his allies believe theyve convinced the great American mainstream that hes an innocent man who shouldnt be on trial, theres ample evidence to the contrary.