Only One Third Of Voters Believe That Trump Acted Illegally In New York Hush Money Case, Poll Finds

A new poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that only about one-third of Americans believe that Trump acted illegally in the hush money case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D). The poll results come as the second day of Trump's trial begins as both the prosecution and defense decide on who will sit on the jury and judge the Republican nominee for president.

The hush money case, one of four criminal indictments against Trump, was brought by Bragg last year and includes 34 felony charges against Trump for allegedly falsifying business records after the presidential candidate paid hush money payments to Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress that Trump allegedly had an affair with in the early 2000s. According to the poll on the case, 35 percent of respondents believe that Trump acted illegally, while 31 percent believe that he acted unethically but did not break the law. An additional 14 percent believe that Trump did nothing wrong, and 19 percent do not know.

When broken down by party, 62 percent of Democrats believe he did something illegal, 27 percent believe he acted unethically but not illegally, and only two percent say he did nothing wrong. Amongst independents, a central voting bloc that will be essential to a Trump victory in November, 32 percent believe Trump did something illegal, 25 percent believe he acted unethically, and 15 percent say he did nothing wrong. For Republican respondents, only six percent say the former president acted illegally, 40 percent say he acted unethically, and 28 percent say he did nothing wrong. Notably, only eight percent of Democrats didn't have an opinion on Trump's guilt or lack thereof, while 27 percent of independents and 26 percent of Republicans say they didn't know enough to have an opinion.

The poll's findings come as Trump sits in a Manhattan courtroom, where Trump's lawyers and the prosecution determine who will sit on the jury to judge the case. The jury selection process is expected to play out over several weeks as the lawyers ask each potential juror a plethora of questions to determine their underlying perceptions of Trump to pick an impartial jury. Following the initial selections, lawyers from each side can cut ten jurors from the pool and ultimately decide who will be the final 12 to judge the case.

As the criminal trial takes place over the coming months, the American public and the media will relentlessly critique both the prosecution and Trump's defense. The various indictments against Trump actually increased his popularity among the Republican base, and it is possible that the results of this criminal trial may have the same effect on the general public. Trump has repeatedly argued that the persecution against him is unfounded and a "witch hunt," and only time will tell if the American people agree with him.

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