A majority of Americans do not believe Donald Trump's claims that U.S. presidents are immune from prosecution for alleged crimes committed while in office, including nearly half of Republicans, according to a poll.
A Politico/Ipsos survey of 1,032 people conducted from March 8-10 found that 70 percent say they don't believe U.S. presidents should be immune from criminal prosecution, a figure that includes 48 percent of GOP voters.
Fewer than a quarter (24 percent) of Republicans said they think the president should be immune from alleged crimes that occurred while in office, with 27 percent saying they do not know.
Trump has claimed criminal investigations into him over his alleged criminal attempt to overturn the 2020 election results are not warranted as he can cite absolute immunity as the charges relate to his time in the White House.
The Supreme Court is due to rule on whether Trump can claim absolute immunity to dismiss Special Counsel Jack Smith's 2020 election obstruction case, where Trump has pleaded not guilty to four federal charges.
The poll found that nearly half (46 percent) of people do not believe the conservative majority Supreme Court, which includes three justices nominated to the bench by Trump, will be able to issue a "fair and non-partisan" ruling on whether he can cite presidential immunity to dismiss the case related to the events leading up to the January 6 attack.
When broken down further, the results show that Republicans (38 percent) are more likely to trust the Supreme Court in the immunity decision than Democrats (14 percent) or independents (24 percent).
Newsweek reached out to Trump's office via email for comment.
The Supreme Court will hear legal arguments on Trump's absolute immunity argument starting April 25. The immunity appeal has already delayed the federal trial from its original March date, potentially by several months.
A number of legal experts have suggested that the Supreme Court will ultimately rule that Trump is not immune from prosecution for alleged crimes he committed while in office.
Fifty-nine percent of respondents in the poll said Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican nominee for president, should stand trial to face the obstruction charges before election day in November.
Elsewhere, the poll suggested that Trump's chances of winning the 2024 election would be hindered if he is convicted of a crime in the upcoming falsified business records trial in New York.
The proceedings, in which Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges, are delayed until around mid-April but are still on course to be the first of the four criminal trials the former president is scheduled to appear at.
The survey found that 44 percent of people said Trump's conviction in the falsifying business records case would not influence their vote, with 34 percent of Republicans saying it would make them more likely to support him in the race against President Joe Biden.
However, more than a third (36 percent) of independent voters, a potentially key demographic in the 2024 race, said they would be less likely to support Trump if he is convicted in the New York criminal case.
Trump has frequently suggested each of the four federal and state prosecutions of him are politically motivated "witch hunts" that aim to stop him from winning the 2024 election.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
fairness meter
To Rate This Article
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
