So did Trump’s guilty verdict really change minds?
A new poll reveals that former president Donald Trump’s standing against President Joe Biden might have taken a hit after he was found guilty on 34 counts in a criminal trial.
A New York Times/Siena College poll released on Wednesday showed that Trump dropped two points in a head-to-head against Biden. Before the verdict, 48 per cent of voters preferred Trump compared to 45 per cent who were for the president.
However, after the verdict last Thursday, where a jury found him guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records to influence an election in “unlawful ways”, Trump’s lead dropped to just one point. But seven per cent said they did not know or they refused to answer.
The poll composed of 1,897 registered voters who had taken a Times/Siena College poll in the past two months. It’s unclear whether the verdict caused the drop in Trump’s polling but the survey was done between 3-4 June, after the jury handed down its verdict.
President Joe Biden’s campaign has gone all-in on attacking Biden for the criminal conviction. During a fundraiser in Greenwich this week, Biden called Trump a “convicted felon”.
“Last week, for the first time in American history, a former president is convicted – a convicted felon,” he said. “He’s now seeking the office of the presidency.”
Chuck Schumer, Senate majority leader, also highlighted Trump’s criminal conviction, which happened in his home state of New York.
“The most important takeaway from this case is that nobody is above the law, including Donald Trump,” he said. “The former president went through the same legal process that all Americans go through, he was tried according to the facts and the law, and was found guilty by a jury of his peers.”
However, Republicans, including those in districts that voted for Biden, have come to Trump’s defense.
“I’ve been saying this entire time that they don't have the executive authority to do anything and all of a sudden they find found it somewhere, no rule has changed, nothing has changed,” Juan Ciscomani of Arizona told The Independent on Monday.
Similarly, Mike Lawler of New York, who also won in a wave year, told The Independent that he questioned the timing.
“This verdict was based on a decision by a prosecutor who has refused to do his job. When it comes to prosecuting violent felons. violent felons have been let go under Alvin Bragg,” Lawler said referring to the district attorney who led the prosecution.
