Most Americans believe former President Donald Trump’s indictment will either make him stronger or have no effect at all, a YouGov survey conducted and released on April 4 — the day the former president turned himself in — found.
The survey asked respondents if the 34 charges against Trump — which he pled not guilty to — will make him a stronger or weaker candidate in the 2024 presidential election.
Overall, 53 percent said the charges will either make him a stronger candidate or make no difference at all. In other words, most do not think this series of events will have a negative effect on him. Of those, 32 percent said it will make Trump a stronger candidate, and 21 percent said it will make no difference. Twenty-nine percent, overall, believe it makes him a weaker candidate.
Notably, most Republicans, 58 percent, said the charges make Trump a stronger candidate, while 15 percent said it makes no difference. Most independents also do not believe the charges will negatively affect Trump, as 26 percent said it will make him stronger and 23 percent believe it will have no difference. Notably, a plurality of Democrats assume the charges will, in the very least, not affect Trump negatively — 25 percent said the charges will make no difference, and 18 percent believe they will make Trump stronger. Forty percent of Democrats, however, believe it makes the former president a weaker candidate.
While a majority of those surveyed said they approve of the decision to charge Trump, only 39 percent across the board believe it is at least somewhat likely Trump will be convicted. Another 45 percent view it as at least not very likely.
The survey was taken April 4, 2023, among 1,824 U.S. adults — the same day Trump arrived at the Manhattan courthouse for his arraignment.
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Trump delivered a speech after arriving back to his Mar-a-Lago home Tuesday evening, telling supporters, “I never thought anything like this could happen in America.”
“Never thought it could happen. The only crime that I have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it,” Trump said.
Notably, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who believes Trump falsified business records to “cover up crimes relating to the 2016 election,” won his 2021 Democrat primary race after bragging about suing the Trump administration — an action he claims he has taken over 100 times:
Trump, in turn, has called Bragg the true criminal.
“The criminal is the district attorney because he illegally leaked massive amounts of grand jury information for which he should be prosecuted or, at a minimum, he should resign,” Trump told the crowd during his Mar-a-Lago speech.
WATCH: Trump: “They Can’t Beat Us at The Ballot Box,” So Now They Try “The Law”:
WATCH the press conference below: