Trump Voters Trust Ex-President More Than Their Family and Friends: Poll

Former President Donald Trump's supporters say they hold him as a source of true information over their family, friends, and religious leaders, according to a new CBS News/YouGov poll out on Sunday.

Previous polling gives Trump a commanding lead over his Republican rivals in the race to be the party's 2024 presidential nominee. However, last week the former president was charged with 13 counts in an indictment by a grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, related to claims he broke the law attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election outcome in the state, which he has denied.

Meanwhile, Trump has already pled not guilty to a series of indictments concerning allegations he orchestrated the payment of hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign, mishandled classified documents after leaving the White House, and used illegal tactics in a bid to overturn the 2020 election when a group of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021, to stop Congress from certifying the Electoral College.

In the CBS News/YouGov survey, Trump voters were asked to pick who they feel tells them the truth. Trump gathered 71 percent of the vote, friends and family gathered 63 percent, conservative media figures had 56 percent, and religious leaders gathered 42 percent. The poll was conducted between August 16-18 and interviewed 2,061 U.S. adult residents. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 points for the sample overall.

Brian Klaas, an associate professor of global politics at University College London, reacted to the poll on Sunday writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, "Trump voters believe Trump is more likely to tell them the truth than their friends and family. Again: to understand the modern GOP, you need to understand what an authoritarian cult of personality is, because that's what it has become."

Tom Nichols, staff writer for The Atlantic, also posted to X in response to the poll and wrote, "Insanely cultish."

The new poll also found the former president now holds his largest lead yet over Florida Governor and 2024 Republican candidate Ron DeSantis, with Trump gathering 62 percent of the vote in a potential GOP primary compared to DeSantis's 16 percent.

Political analyst and Dillard University professor Robert Collins told Newsweek on Sunday that the "poll demonstrates the extent to which voters are locked in and their minds are already made up."

He continued: "The opinions of the Republican base about Trump were set in stone a long time ago, so they're going to dismiss any negative information about him, even if that information comes from family members or friends. In the eyes of the Republican base, the indictments are turning Trump into a martyr. He has managed to convince his base that the indictments against him are really attacks on them and their beliefs. As a result, they are going to trust him as their primary source of information above all others."

The poll also indicated that Trump voters cite the former president's ongoing legal troubles as yet one more reason to show him support.

Newsweek has reached out to Trump's campaign via email for comment.