According to a recent Politico-Ipsos poll released on Tuesday, there has been a noticeable change in how Americans view the criminal cases involving former President Donald Trump, particularly among independents.
According to a recent poll conducted by Ipsos, approximately half of Americans are of the belief that Donald Trump is guilty in all four criminal cases he is currently facing. These cases include the Manhattan “hush money” case, the Mar-a-Lago documents case, the Georgia election interference case, and the federal election interference case. Ipsos highlighted that these numbers have remained relatively stable since a similar poll conducted in August 2023, which was shortly after the latest indictment was announced.
The results remained consistent when analyzed based on party affiliation. Democrats overwhelmingly believed that Trump is guilty, with percentages ranging between 86 and 87 for each case. On the other hand, Republicans leaned towards the belief that Trump is not guilty, albeit to a lesser extent, with percentages ranging between 60 and 67 for each case.
According to a recent Ipsos poll, a significant number of independents are increasingly inclined to believe that Trump is guilty in each case, with a range of 53 percent to 58 percent expressing this view. This marks a notable shift towards a belief in Trump’s guilt compared to a previous Ipsos poll conducted in July 2023.
In the previous survey, Trump faced indictments related to hush money and documents. At that time, 36 percent of independent respondents believed Trump was guilty of a crime in the documents case, while the rest either considered him not guilty or were unsure. As for the hush money case, only 28 percent of respondents believed Trump was guilty, with the majority choosing other options.
The recent results indicate that Special Counsel Jack Smith and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg have made progress in persuading independent individuals of the former president’s guilt. However, the opinions of partisan demographics have remained unchanged during this time period.
Newsweek contacted Trump’s office on Tuesday afternoon via email to request a comment.
The accusation against Trump by Bragg’s office is that he falsified business records to hide the payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels. It is alleged that these payments were a form of “hush money” to keep quiet about their alleged affair in 2006.
According to official documents, Trump has been accused by Smith’s office of unlawfully keeping classified documents containing sensitive national security information. These documents were allegedly stored improperly at his Mar-a-Lago residence and were not returned when requested by the National Archives.
Trump has maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty to all of the charges brought against him.