Poll: Plurality of Americans Says Donald Trump Can’t ‘Get Fair Trial in New York’

A plurality of Americans believes that former President Donald J. Trump would receive an unfair trial in New York following the grand jury indictment of the 45th president last week, according to a poll.

The YouGov/Economist poll, published on Thursday, asked respondents, “Do you think Donald Trump can get a fair trial in New York?”

Of the U.S. adults sampled, 40 percent think Trump cannot “get a fair trial in New York,” while 39 percent think he can. The gap slightly widens among registered voters, with 42 percent responding “No,” he cannot “get a fair trial” and 40 percent saying “Yes,” he can.

While a majority of Democrats, 65 percent, think justice would be fairly administered to Trump, a plurality of independents join most Republicans, 69 percent, in their belief that a fair trial is not possible. Of independents, 38 percent think Trump would be subjected to an unfair trial, while 33 percent think it would be just.

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Regarding registered voters, 46 percent say the indictment was more a result of a “legitimate investigation” by the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, while 45 percent say the indictment was “more the result of a witch hunt.” The vast majority of adult Republicans, 76 percent, believe the indictment stemmed more from a “witch hunt” than a “legitimate investigation” versus 78 percent of Democrats who think the opposite.

A plurality of independents, 39 percent, concur with Republicans that the probe was more of a “witch hunt,” versus 35 percent who say it was “legitimate.”

Trump was arrested and arraigned on Tuesday on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Bragg alleged that Trump falsified business records to “cover up crimes relating to the 2016 election.”

Manhattan District Attorney's Office

However, many throughout the political sphere have questioned the strength of Bragg’s case, which—as George Washington University Law Professor Jonathon Turley noted—federal prosecutors opted not to pursue.

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YouGov’s poll sampled 1,500 U.S. adults, including 1,319 registered voters, from April 1-4. The weighted margin of error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points, and the margin of error among registered voters is plus or minus 3 percentage points.