Republicans' preference for Trump increases after indictment on 34 charges.
Today, 58% of Republicans say he is their preferred candidate, more than the 48% in the previous Reuters/Ipsos poll.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The accusation by former President Donald Trump has divided Americans evenly, but it appears to have increased his chances of securing the Republican nomination for the 2024 election, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Thursday.
The survey was conducted on Wednesday and Thursday, following Trump's indictment on Tuesday on 34 criminal charges of falsifying business records by New York City prosecutors.
The survey found that 49% of all Americans believe it was right for prosecutors to open the first criminal case against a current or former president of the United States.
But the result highlights the political divide on so many issues revolving around Trump: 84% of self-identified Democrats said the charges were deserved, while only 16% of Republicans agreed.
The survey showed that 40% of Republicans said the case makes them more likely to vote for Trump in 2024, while 12% said it makes them less likely to support him. Another 38% said the event had no impact.
Trump leads the race for the Republican nomination by a wide margin, with 58% of Republicans saying he is their preferred candidate. This represents an increase from 48% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who did not enter the race, is in second place with 21%.
Although Democrats and Republicans are deeply divided over the outcome of the case, research has shown a strong belief that Trump arranged payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels and model Karen McDougal to keep them quiet about alleged extramarital affairs.
The poll showed that 73% of Americans believe this to be the case, including 55% of Republicans.
However, 76% of Republicans believe that some officials are working to delegitimize Trump through politically motivated investigations, compared to 34% of Democrats.
The survey indicated that 51% of all respondents, but only 18% of Republicans, said the accusations should disqualify Trump from running for president again.
The survey of 1.004 adults has a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of plus or minus 3,8 percentage points for all respondents and plus or minus 6,3 percentage points for the 368 Republicans who participated.