Donald Trump faced a significant setback in Texas last Tuesday night, with the loss of his supported candidate, David Covey, in the primary runoff against Texas State House Speaker Dade Phelan. On Thursday, in New York, Trump received a guilty verdict – an unprecedented event in American history. Following the verdict, Trump’s campaign announced raising over $52 million within 24 hours due to a surge in donations. While this was a brief respite, a Saturday survey revealed a sharp drop in Trump’s popularity shortly after the conviction.
High-profile Republicans, including legislators and senators, accused President Joe Biden of using his presidential political power against the former president. Trump’s supporters speculate the guilty verdict could rebound negatively on Biden, deteriorating his support from crucial voter groups that backed him in 2020. Interestingly, a considerable segment of the Black population, typically Democratic voters, have switched their allegiance to Trump, blaming the federal government for the soaring inflation and the economic situation.
In contrast, Trump has now officially been found guilty of a felony. Prior reports suggest a strategy already exists within the Biden campaign to run costly adverts against the likely Republican nominee, aiming to destabilize his current support, particularly in swing states.
However, experts argue that it’s too soon to predict the impact of Trump’s guilty verdict, as it could swing either way. However, the first survey undertaken on Friday following the guilty verdict shows Trump’s popularity took an immediate nosedive.
The Morning Consult survey
Following a New York jury’s conviction of Donald Trump for falsifying business records, a recent survey reveals varied responses among voters. The Morning Consult survey suggests that while many Republicans and Independents believe Trump should withdraw from the presidential race, most registered voters back the jury’s verdict.
Survey findings
- 54% of registered voters “strongly” or “somewhat” approve of the guilty verdict compared to 34% who “strongly or “somewhat” disapprove.
- 49% of Independents and 15% of Republicans said Trump should end his campaign because of the conviction.
- The polls found the race effectively tied nationally in a 1-on-1 with Biden at 45% and Trump at 44%.
A political move
The survey further indicates that a majority of voters lean towards more lenient punishments for Trump, with probation being suggested by 49% of the participants and a 44% preference for prison. A noteworthy 68% of voters lean towards a monetary fine as a suitable penalty. The findings also revealed a deep-rooted distrust within the criminal justice system, especially apparent amongst Republican voters— 75% of whom reported a decline in confidence post-verdict.
Moreover, a significant 77% of GOP voters alongside 43% of Independents perceive Trump’s conviction as a political maneuver designed to damage his political trajectory.
Calls for help
Donald Trump has urged the US Supreme Court to overturn the guilty verdict from the hush-money case, leaving him as the first former US president with a convicted felon status. The prospective Republican nominee for 2024 expressed this request in a characteristically dramatic post on his Truth Social platform. Notably, the scheduled sentencing hearing slated for July 11 arrives just four days prior to the GOP’s national convention in Milwaukee, where his nomination is anticipated to be formalized.
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“The ‘Sentencing’ for not having done anything wrong will be, conveniently for the Fascists, 4 days before the Republican National Convention,” Trump wrote. “A Radical Left Soros backed D.A., who ran on a platform of ‘I will get Trump,’ reporting to an ‘Acting’ Local Judge, appointed by the Democrats, who is HIGHLY CONFLICTED, will make a decision which will determine the future of our Nation?”
