Akpadia on the secret documents prompts a slight drop in support for Mr. Trump among Republicans

2023-06-29 21:32:53, Kosova & Bota CNA

Akpadia on the secret documents prompts a slight drop in support for Mr. Trump

The federal criminal indictment against former President Donald Trump for the willful and unauthorized possession of secret government documents appears to have slightly dented his popularity among Republicans, according to a new poll by the Center for Public Affairs Research, NORC as well as the Associated Press agency.

Sixty percent of Republicans see Mr. Trump as their party's top presidential candidate for the 2024 election, or 8 percent less than in April, when 68 percent favored the former president. Meanwhile, 38% of Republicans disapprove of Mr. Trump, an 8 percent increase from 30% in April.

The slight drop in support suggests that some Republicans may have grown weary of the endless legal dramas facing Mr. Trump. He is the first former president in the country's history to face federal criminal charges. Mr. Trump himself pleaded not guilty this month to 37 criminal charges for the intentional and unauthorized possession of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Prosecutors say he hid them and refused to hand over the documents when asked to do so. Another lawsuit, which was filed a while ago by the New York prosecutor's office, weighs heavily on Mr. Trump.

According to the poll, Mr. Trump is less popular among Americans in general, with 63% disapproving of him and 33% in favor, similar to April's figures. The poll was conducted between June 22 and 26, after the publication of the federal indictment and Mr. Trump's not guilty plea.

The poll also finds that compared to April, American adults are slightly more likely to believe the former president acted illegally in the way he handled the classified documents issue. Slightly more than half, 53%, currently think that he has broken the law, compared to 47% that figure was calculated in April. But most of that growth is attributable to Democrats.

An overwhelming majority of Democratic voters, 84%, say Mr. Trump has broken the law, compared with 75% who shared the same view in April.

When it comes to Republicans, only about a quarter say Mr. Trump acted illegally, about the same as in April. 29% think he acted unethically, and that he did nothing illegal, while 26% believe he did nothing wrong. The remainder said they did not have enough information to form an opinion.

Still, the numbers make clear the challenges facing rivals within Mr. Trump's Republican Party, who have struggled to share an opinion about the indictments against him, which in any other era would have marked "political death." of a candidate.

While former ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, has called Mr. Trump's alleged actions regarding classified documents "unsubstantiated," and Mr. Pence's allegations as very serious, the candidates have also criticized the Department of Justice, reflecting the deep skepticism Republican voters have of federal law enforcement structures.

In addition to the federal indictment, Mr. Trump was indicted in New York in March for falsifying business records on suspicion of concealing a payment made to a porn actress who claims to have had sex with Mr. Trump. The latter has rejected such a thing. It is likely that Mr. Trump will face new charges from other countries as well.

In Georgia, a prosecutor is investigating efforts by former President Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election. In Washington, special counsel Jack Smith is continuing investigations into the impact of Mr. Trump's unsubstantiated claims about the election, including the violent attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

According to the poll, half of American adults believe that Mr. Trump broke the law in his alleged attempt to interfere in the process of counting votes in the state of Georgia during the 2020 presidential election. Slightly less, or 45 %, say that his actions in relation to the January 6 attack were illegal.

Only 35% of Americans say he acted illegally over the payments made to the two women, allegations raised in the New York lawsuit, down slightly from the 41% who thought so in April. in a survey conducted immediately after the formalization of the indictment.

By political affiliation, 57% of Democrats now think Mr. Trump acted illegally in the New York case, up from 68% in April. Only 13% of Republicans say Mr. Trump acted illegally, the same as in April.

Almost all American adults have read, or heard at least a little, about the federal indictment of Mr. Trump. Democrats turn out to have heard more about this issue compared to Republicans./ VOA