Former President Trump’s approval rating for the presidential election remains stable, even shortly after his felony conviction in New York, according to a new poll.
A survey released Thursday by Emerson College Polling found that 46 percent of likely voters nationwide support Trump, the same percentage as in April. The gap between Trump and President Biden has narrowed in that time, from 3 points to 1 point in the latest poll, making them a statistical tie.
A majority (40%) said a conviction of Trump would have no impact on how they would vote in November, while a third said it would make them less likely to support Trump and 27% said it would make them more likely to support him.
A Manhattan jury handed down a historic verdict last week in President Trump’s hush money trial, finding him guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, making him the first former president to be convicted of a crime.
Trump continues to deny any wrongdoing and has indicated he is likely to appeal the verdict.
The poll found that opinions on the ruling were divided along ideological lines: A majority of Democrats said the ruling made them less likely to support Trump, while a majority of Republicans said it made them more likely to support Trump.
Independents were divided, with 41% saying it would not affect their vote, 38% saying it would make them less likely to vote for Trump, and 21% saying it would make them more likely to vote.
Among voters who are undecided between Biden and Trump, a key group, 58% said the ruling would not affect their vote, but 36% said it would make them less likely to support Biden and just 6% said it would make them more likely.
The poll found that 40% of respondents (67% of Democrats and 42% of independents) said Trump should receive prison time, while 25% (46% of Republicans and 22% of independents) said he should receive a fine, and an additional 15% said he should receive probation.
The poll was conducted June 4-5 among 1,000 registered voters and has a confidence interval (similar to a margin of error) of 3 percentage points.
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