Most Americans believe former President Donald Trump—who is way ahead among GOP candidates vying for the White House—should be tried on the charges he was indicted before the Republican presidential primaries and general election, according to a Politico magazine/Ipsos poll.
The poll represents a June 27-28 survey of 1,005 Americans.
Mr. Trump has been charged in a 37-felony-count indictment for mishandling classified and secret documents and in a 34-felony-count indictment for falsifying business records.
Arguably the most serious charges are the 31 counts (contained within the 37-count mishandling of documents indictment) of violating the Espionage Act. Mr. Trump could receive a 10-year prison sentence if convicted of an Espionage Act offense.
Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty to both indictments.
There could be more legal problems for Mr. Trump, as it has been reported that special counsel Jack Smith is considering bringing up to 45 additional charges against him relating to the mishandling of documents at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Special counsel Jack Smith delivers remarks on a recently unsealed indictment against former President Donald Trump in Washington on June 9, 2023. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Mr. Smith is also investigating Mr. Trump for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, protests and disruption in Washington, D.C.
The poll did not ask questions about the civil case brought against Mr. Trump by E. Jean Carroll, in which she claimed he raped her in the fitting room of a department store in the 1990s. On May 9, a jury found Mr. Trump liable, not for rape but for sexually abusing Ms. Carroll and ordered Mr. Trump to pay her approximately $5 million. Mr. Trump denied Ms. Carroll’s allegations and countersued her for defamation for going on TV the day after jurors made their decision in the case, accusing him of raping her, even though the jurors said he had not raped her.
(Left) President Donald Trump comes out of the Oval Office from the White House on Sept. 16, 2019. (Right) E. Jean Carroll (C) leaves following her trial at Manhattan Federal Court in New York on May 8, 2023. Mandel Ngan, Stephanie Keith/Getty Images
Poll Results
Fifty-seven percent of Americans, as reported in the Politico magazine/Ipsos poll, feel that Mr. Trump should be tried before the Republican primaries, with 62 percent saying a trial should be held before the presidential election.The Politico magazine/Ipsos poll broke down its results according to the political affiliation of respondents.
Of the Democrats polled, 77 percent say Mr. Trump should be tried prior to the GOP primaries, and 85 percent say a trial should happen before the presidential election.
But only 42 percent of Republicans said Mr. Trump should be tried before the primaries, with 46 percent saying Mr. Trump should be tried before the presidential election.
Forty-seven percent of independents polled said a Trump trial should be held before the Republican primaries.
What did those polled say should happen to Donald Trump if he is convicted on a charge?
In the event of a conviction on either indictment, the Politico/Ipsos poll says, “A plurality of Americans think Trump should be imprisoned;” as well, “Americans are split when it comes to other options, with around one in five saying Trump should either receive probation but no imprisonment, financial penalty only, or no punishment.”
The poll shows that if Mr. Trump is convicted on the mishandling of documents indictment, 43 percent of Americans believe he should be imprisoned, while 73 percent of Democrats, 16 percent of Republicans, and 33 percent of independents think that Trump should receive prison time if convicted on the indictment.
As the poll reports, 22 percent of Americans feel that Donald Trump should not be punished if convicted on the documents case. The numbers who feel this way, broken down by party, are 4 percent of Democrats, 39 percent of Republicans, and 20 percent of independents.
