Indictment of Donald Trump has strong support across the board; Can Ron DeSantis score with independents?
Can GOP candidates overcome Trump’s trolling?
Multiple polls conducted in the last several days show that most Americans support the indictment of former president Donald J. Trump. The Manhattan District Attorney’s indictment will be unsealed tomorrow, and the former president will make history by becoming the first former president charged with felonies.
A poll released this morning by CNN found that 60 percent of Americans support the indictment ahead of tomorrow’s arraignment of Trump. The former president is accused of paying hush money to adult film actor Stormy Daniels days before the November 2016 election.
Not surprisingly, 94 percent of Democratic voters support it, while 79 percent of Republicans do not. More significantly, especially regarding the 2024 presidential election, 60 percent of independent voters support the indictment, while 38 percent oppose it.
The indictment is also supported across several demographic lines. Across gender lines, 62 percent of women and 58 percent of men support the indictment.
Other polls have found similar results. It cannot be stressed enough that even though Trump is unpopular, as is Joe Biden, his base is loyal.
The most ardent voters participate in primary elections, and even as Trump is under indictment, he has shown an ability to convince enough people he is the savior.
The question facing the Republican party is that even though Trump still has a plurality of Republican voters supporting his 2024 nomination bid, as his legal woes mount, will it become apparent at some point his defeat be revealed as imminent?
Even if he is under multiple indictments, never underestimate Trump’s ability to punch hard on his Republican primary opponents and portray himself as a victim. Is “Meatball Ron” Desantis, as Trump has labeled him, willing or able to punch back, or will he collapse like a house of cards?
And if Desantis or some other candidates become legitimate challengers and punch back, the Republican nomination process will be a repeat of 2016. That will play right into the tiny as they are, the hands of Trump.
As it relates to the poll’s findings about the Trump indictment, if De Santis becomes the nominee, will he defend Trump? If so, how will that play with independent voters?
