Poll: Voters have mixed feelings about Trump as 2024 presidential race comes into focus

As the 2024 presidential election rapidly nears, American voters are giving "mixed signals" about former President Donald Trump and his legal woes, a new Quinnipiac University poll found.

More than half of Americans believe that the allegations being investigated in the Manhattan district attorney's office's hush-money probe are very serious (55%) and that criminal charges (57%) should disqualify Trump for running for president again.

But some six in 10 people (62%) believe that the investigation involving the former president — which could soon produce criminal charges for Trump, a first in U.S. history — is motivated by politics, not law, according to the poll.

Trump has already declared his candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

The survey of 1,788 adults, taken between March 23-27, has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.3%.

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Americans give 'mixed signals' on Trump, according to poll

• Possible NYC Trump indictment: Some 88% of Democrats and 55% of independents believe that criminal charges should disqualify Trump for running for president again, while some 75% of Republicans believe that criminal charges should have no bearing on whether Trump can run for the nation’s highest office again.

• Truth Social post: Almost 7 in 10 Americans (69%) believe that when Trump urged his followers on his social media site Truth Social to protest his possible arrest and “take our nation back” that he was “mainly acting out of concern for himself,” not democracy.

• Trump's legacy: More than half (58%) of registered voters believe that Trump had a mainly negative impact on the Republican party, while some 36% think his impact was mostly positive. Six in 10 registered voters do not support Trump’s Make America Great Again movement. Among Republicans, 72% believe Trump’s impact was mostly positive and 70% support MAGA.

• 2024 GOP candidates: Out of a list of 15 Republicans who have declared a 2024 presidential run or are expected to, Trump receives 47% of support among Republican and Republican-leaning voters, followed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at 33%. Former Vice President Mike Pence receives 5% and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley receives 4%. The other candidates’ support fell under 2%, according to the poll.

Trump or DeSantis v. Biden

In a hypothetical match-up between Trump and President Joe Biden in 2024, Biden would receive 48% of votes to Trump’s 46%, according to the poll.

But those odds flip in a Biden-DeSantis match-up, where Biden would receive 46% of the vote and DeSantis would receive 48%, the poll said.

• Favorability: Thirty-seven percent of respondents say they have a favorable opinion of Joe Biden, compared to Trump and DeSantis’ 36% favorable each. Some 56% say their opinion of Biden is unfavorable, 58% say their Trump opinion is unfavorable and 39% say their DeSantis opinion is unfavorable.

• Trustworthiness: Some 41% of voters say Biden is honest, while 54% say he is not. About 41% of voters also trust that DeSantis is honest, while 40% say he is not. And only 29% of voters say Trump is honest, compared to 65% who say he is not.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump gets 'mixed signals' from voters on 2024 presidential race: poll