In some ways Donald Trump being the first U.S. president ever indicted on criminal charges, but in some ways it looks awful good on him. After news of it broke, he raised a cool $4 million off his sometimes cash-strapped supporters. And, just as many predicted, being a crook didn’t hurt him with GOP voters. Quite the opposite.
A shocking-but-not-that-shocking new Yahoo! poll (as caught by Mediaite) shows the guy indicted over hush money sent to a porn star for an alleged tryst has tripled his lead over his biggest 2024 rival Ron DeSantis. A mere two weeks ago in the same poll, Trump was at 47% to Ol’ Puddin’ Fingers Ron’s 39% — a mere 8% lead. But in this new poll, Trump leaped to 57% while DeSantis dropped to 31%. That’s a 26-point lead — almost three times what it was before he made presidential history.
This should greatly please Trump as he prepares to fly back to the hometown that hates him to get finger-printed, arraigned, and maybe even handcuffed. (That perp walk he claims he so wants, alas, may not happen.) Another Yahoo poll, though, should shut him up.
This survey asks “If Donald Trump is convicted of a crime in this case, do you think he should be allowed to serve as president again in the future?” On one hand it looks good for him: Among all respondents, only 31% said yes to the 52% who said no. But if you look at Republican participants, that number is oddly reverse: 56% say yes, he should, only 24% said no, and 20% are unsure.
In conclusion, Trump’s indictment has made him more popular with GOP voters, who also don’t think he should ever get his odd gig back if he’s convicted. Indictment is fine, conviction not so much. After all, they are the party of law and order.