The indictment of former President Donald Trump could be a major talking point and have a large impact on the 2024 presidential election.
While some polls show Trump losing support and voters saying he knowingly committed a crime, a new poll shows the former president gaining support in the Republican party.
What Happened: Trump was recently indicted by a federal grand jury in relation to criminal charges related to hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
The indictment and arrest of Trump came over a year and a half before the 2024 election, which Trump has already announced his campaign.
Since the indictment and arrest, Trump is gaining support among Republican voters, according to a new poll from Morning Consult.
In the poll, Trump has 56% support among Republican voters who would pick him today to win the party’s nomination. This marks Trump’s biggest lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has not officially declared his intent to run for president.
Behind Trump, DeSantis ranks second with 23% of the vote. Mike Pence and Nikki Haley get 7% and 4%, respectively, to round out the top four candidates. No other candidate got over 3% of the vote in the poll.
Morning Consult began polling Republican voters in December and the 33-point lead over DeSantis is the largest by Trump since the polls began.
The poll also found that of those who would vote for Trump as the Republican candidate, 48% would pick DeSantis as their second option and 14% would vote Pence second.
Of those who picked DeSantis as their top option, 41% pick Trump second with 17% of the votes going to Pence and 17% going to Haley.
Trump has a favorable rating of 78% in the latest poll, with DeSantis ranking second at 69%, followed by Pence and Haley at 61% and 44% respectively.
When asked if they had seen, read or heard negative headlines about candidates, 57% said yes to negative headlines about Trump, while only 17% said the same about headlines about DeSantis.
The other big part of the poll from Morning Consult was a hypothetical matchup between the winning Republican candidate and current President Joe Biden, who is expected to win the Democratic nomination at this time.
Trump received 42% of the vote compared to Biden at 43% in the poll. DeSantis received 41% of the vote to Biden in the same poll, giving the former president a slight edge in a hypothetical matchup against Biden.
According to the poll, DeSantis had previously ranked ahead of Biden in a head-to-head matchup but has fallen behind recently.
Related Link: Trump Warns Ron DeSantis — Running For President Means Losing 'Cherished And Massive MAGA' Vote Base
Why It’s Important: The poll from Morning Consult comes in stark contrast to a recent poll from ABC that showed Trump’s favorability among voters falling after the indictment.
Trump had a favorable rating of 25% in the recent ABC poll and an unfavorable rating of 61%. The ABC poll was done across Republicans, Democrats and Independents.
The poll from ABC also showed the voters believed Trump had knowingly committed a crime and should be charged. A near majority of 48% of the vote also said that Trump should suspend his presidential campaign.
While it is still over a year away, the latest poll among Republican voters shows that despite the indictment and arrest, Trump remains the favorite candidate to receive the GOP nomination for the 2024 presidential election.
The poll may also support claims by some figures like Robert Kiyosaki and Elon Musk who believed if Trump was arrested, it could help his odds of winning in 2024.
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