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A plurality of Americans think former President Donald Trump should have been charged by a Manhattan grand jury with a history-making indictment, yet a near equal amount believe that the charges against him are politically motivated, according to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll.
According to the poll, 45% think Trump should have been charged with a crime in this case, whereas 32% don’t think so and 23% say they don’t know.
Democrats are, unsurprisingly, rallying behind the grand jury’s decision.
Almost nine in 10 Democrats (88%) think Trump should have been charged in the investigation by the Manhattan D.A., which has been probing a $130,000 hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels who alleges the two had an affair. Trump has long denied these claims.
Compared with Democrats, Republicans are less united. While a majority, 62%, say that Trump should not have been charged, one in five Republicans say they “don’t know” and 16% say he should have been charged, per the ABC News/Ipsos poll conducted using Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel.
Independents see more of a split, with two in five saying he should have been charged, 32% saying he shouldn’t have been and 27% saying “don’t know.”
Big picture, half of Americans believe the charges are very or somewhat serious, while 36% say they are not too serious or not serious at all. A smaller portion, 14%, say they don’t know. Considered among party lines, 87% of Democrats say the charges are very (49%) or somewhat serious (38%), and six in 10 Republicans say the charges are not too serious (19%) or not serious at all (41%).
Some members of the public may be waiting to see what precisely the indictment is connected to or what specific charges Trump will face.
