Fourth Trump Indictment Backfires as Poll Shows Him with Biggest Primary Lead Yet
I’m sure by now you’ve noticed the two obvious patterns around every indictment of former President Donald Trump.
The first is, of course, the clockwork precision in which 45 gets indicted right around the time Hunter Biden gets bad news.
But the second is the one I enjoy more.
It’s the amazing way in which Trump’s poll numbers seem to rise every time he gets indicted.
Trump likes the pattern, too.
“Any time they file an indictment, we go way up in the polls,” he said during an Aug. 4 Republican Party dinner in Alabama.
“We need one more indictment to close out this election. One more indictment, and this election is closed out,” Trump said, according to The Hill.
“We need one more indictment to CLOSE out this election”!?
— Feisty-n-Friends (@FriendsFeisty) August 17, 2023
Well, he got it.
And, it looks like he could even be right about closing out the election.
According to Mediaite, in a recent interview with CNN’s Jim Acosta, CNN’s senior date reporter Harry Enten discussed the influence of the four criminal indictments against Donald Trump on his prospects in the 2024 presidential election when pitted against President Joe Biden.
According to Enten, Trump’s polling figures in the primary race were notably lower before he faced his initial indictment in New York but have surged since then. In February, according to numbers Enten presented, Trump was supported by 43 percent of Republicans. His closest challenger, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, had 28 percent support.
Despite facing federal indictments related to his handling of classified information and efforts to challenge the 2020 election, the former president maintains a substantial lead of 40 points over his competitors in the crowded Republican primary field, according to RealClearPolitics.
“The GOP base has made up its mind when it comes to these indictments,” Enten told Acosta after presenting polling that shows over 80 percent of the GOP disapprove of the Trump indictments.
“They don’t believe that Trump should have been charged with a crime. The vast majority believe that. And the fact is, it just does not seem like there’s any changing of their minds on any of this, no matter how many indictments there are,” Enten said.
“[A]t this particular point, it is Donald Trump against the field. He has the majority of Republicans in his camp and it doesn’t seem like there’s any stopping him at this particular point, Jim,” Enten added, Mediaite reported.
Enten told Acosta that in a hypothetical general election between Trump and Biden, Trump is in a “stronger position” against Biden now than he was in the entire 2020 election.
You have to know it’s a real phenomenon when CNN is admitting it.
CBS News had to admit the same thing— Trump is surging in the polls.
In the aftermath of his fourth indictment, on Aug. 14, Trump has surged to his most commanding lead yet over his 2024 competitors in a CBS News poll. The poll revealed a stunning 62 percent of GOP support in his favor, marking an impressive lead of 46 percentage points over the second-place contender, DeSantis, who comes in at 16 percent.
Interestingly, a majority of Trump’s supporters viewed these legal issues as an additional motive to stand by him. About 75 percent of Trump’s supporters included showing “support for his legal troubles” as one of the factors, among others, that influenced their consideration of him as a candidate, according to CBS.
New CBS/YouGov Polls (Aug.16-18)
Former President Trump now holds the largest lead ever over his 2024 rivals in a new poll conducted after his 4th indictment with 62% of GOP support — ▲46pts lead over Gov. DeSantis who comes in 2nd with 16% —▼7pts from June poll pic.twitter.com/3GZrJpfmOs
— Mona Salama (@ByMonaSalama) August 20, 2023
Trump also got a whopping 61 percent among those who are looking for someone “honest and trustworthy.”
His supporters say they trust the information he gives them more than other sources, including conservative media figures, religious leaders, and even their own friends and family. Voters were asked about sources of information and if they “feel what they tell you is true.”
Seventy-one percent said Trump versus 63 percent for friends and family.
“Well, there’s no debate about this: Right now, the Republican Party would easily re-nominate Donald Trump for 2024. And it’s not close,” the first line of the CBS News article declared.
Trump, to me, is like Indiana Jones and John McClane combined — he gets himself into the craziest of situations but always manages to make it out in better shape than those who go after him.
And you can always look forward to the sequel.
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