Ever since wrongly predicting the date of his indictment by New York prosecutors, former President Donald Trump has tried to stoke fear in anyone looking to hold him accountable.
To do this, Trump has claimed that any attempt to prosecute him could be met with fierce — and potentially violent — pushback. He has called for mass protests in his defense to “take our nation back”; he has said an indictment could result in “death and destruction”; and he has repeatedly claimed that “everybody” knows he’s innocent.
But new polling from NPR, “PBS Newshour” and Marist shows he’s sorely mistaken (as if the scant protests in his honor weren’t clear enough). Contrary to Trump’s posturing, a majority of Americans think the criminal investigations into his behavior are fair.
So, not exactly — or even remotely — the same as everybody thinking he’s innocent.
Simply put, most Americans believe Trump has committed crimes, including some Republicans. And an overwhelming majority of Americans, including many Republicans, believe Trump engaged in wrongdoing, even if they think those actions were criminal.
(Note: The poll was conducted March 20-23, meaning the 1,327 respondents gave their answers a few days after Trump publicly claimed that he was about to be indicted. The poll had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.)
According to the poll:
A majority of Americans (56%) think the investigations into former President Donald Trump are fair. 41%, though, consider the probes to be a “witch hunt.” Perceptions align closely with partisanship with 87% of Democrats and 51% of independents reporting the investigations are above board. Nearly one in five Republicans (18%) agree. Most Republicans (80%), though, think the investigations are a “witch hunt.”
The poll also found a “plurality of Americans (46%) think the former president has done something illegal, and an additional 29% consider Trump to have done something unethical but not…
Read the full article here
