The majority of Americans say former President Donald Trump should be criminally prosecuted for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 election results, according to a new Quinnipiac poll.
The poll found 54% of Americans said prosecution is warranted as Mr. Trump faces criminal indictments in federal court and in Fulton County, Georgia, over his post-election actions. About 42% said he should not face prosecution.
Ninety-five percent of Democrats said Mr. Trump should be prosecuted, and 5% said he should not. Fifty-seven percent of independents said the ex-president should face prosecution, and 37% said he should not.
However, 12% of Republicans said Mr. Trump should be prosecuted, and 85% said he should not.
Overall, nearly two-thirds of Americans said the charges against Mr. Trump related to the 2020 election are either “very serious” or “somewhat serious.”
“Not only do a large majority of Americans regard the federal charges as serious, more than half of Americans think the former president should face prosecution,” Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy said.
Mr. Trump, the 2024 front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, could still run for president if he is convicted.
The Quinnipiac poll found nearly 7 in 10 Americans say that if a person is convicted of a felony, he or she should not be eligible to be president of the U.S., while 23% say the person should still be eligible.
Despite mounting legal woes, Mr. Trump dominates the GOP primary field in the poll.
He enjoys support from 57% of Republican and Republican-leaning voters, compared to 18% for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, his lowest level of support in Quinnipiac University‘s polls of the 2024 cycle.
Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy is third with 5%, while former Vice President Mike Pence receives 4% and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie are drawing 3% each.
The poll was conducted Aug. 10-14 among 1,632 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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