A poll finds a majority of Republicans think the federal criminal charges against former President Donald Trump, who is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday, are politically motivated.
The arraignment will take place in the federal courthouse in Miami, and NBC News noted Trump has said he will plead not guilty to the charges.
Meanwhile, the Reuters/Ipsos poll, which wrapped up on Monday after beginning on Friday, “found that 81% of self-identified Republicans said politics was driving the case, reflecting the deep polarization of the U.S. electorate.”
The Reuters article continued:
The number of Republicans who believe the former president is being unfairly targeted vastly exceeds the 30-35% of Trump supporters who are estimated by political analysts to make up his core base.
Some 62% of respondents in the Reuters/Ipsos poll, including 91% of Democrats and 35% of Republicans, said it was believable that Trump illegally stored classified documents at his home in Florida as alleged by prosecutors.
Trump announced Thursday federal prosecutors indicted him as part of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the handling of White House papers, according to Breitbart News.
Prosecutor Jack Smith is seen on Nov. 10, 2020. Smith, the prosecutor named as special counsel to oversee investigations related to former President Donald Trump, has a long career confronting public corruption and war crimes. (Robin van Lonkhuijsen/Pool Photo via AP)
However, Trump declared he is innocent in a statement:
I never thought it possible that such a thing could happen to a former President of the United States, who received far more votes than any sitting President in the History of our Country, and is currently leading, by far, all Candidates, both Democrat and Republican, in Polls of the 2024 Presidential Election. I AM AN INNOCENT MAN!
“This is indeed a DARK DAY for the United States of America. We are a Country in serious and rapid Decline, but together we will Make America Great Again!” Trump added.
Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard blasted the indictment of Trump over the weekend while warning the threats to freedom and the Constitution are “coming from within,” Breitbart News reported Monday.
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, then a Democrat presidential hopeful, delivers a campaign speech at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox during the Iowa State Fair August 9, 2019, in Des Moines, Iowa. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Gabbard also said Americans are witnessing an “unprecedented moment” where a sitting United States president has abused the power he holds “to direct the federal government and justice system to be used against his major political opponent in the midst of a presidential campaign, charging him with multiple crimes.”
Meanwhile, Trump has a 36-point lead in the Republican primary race, according to a recent I&I/TIPP Poll, Breitbart News reported Monday.
WATCH: Supporters and Press Gather Outside Miami Courthouse Before Trump’s Arrival for Arraignment