Donald Trump, multi-billionaire businessman, celebrity, politician and former U.S. president, is buried in legal battles, such as with the infamous impeachment proceedings from January 6th. His legal troubles’ long-lasting effects on the upcoming election have yet to be seen.
According to Business Insider, Trump has amassed a total of 91 criminal charges and 34 felonies. He has been accused of allegedly attempting to overturn Georgia’s presidential election voter count, change the results of the 2020 federal election, tamper with his personal business records to reduce his taxes and steal classified documents from the White House and hide them in his private club “Mar-a-Lago.”
Trump responded to these allegations in New Hampshire during one of his campaign events, August 8th 2023, saying, “They want to take away my freedom because I will never let them take away your freedom — they want to silence me because I will never let them silence you.” He further states that he will continue his campaign if the trials continue or if he is convicted.
According to FiveThirtyEightPolls with ABC News, his favorability as a presidential candidate has been on the rise, rising from 38.6% to 42.6% from 2022 to 2024. But these changes seem to fall strictly across party lines. Democrats and Republicans have opposing views of Trump’s legal troubles. According to Axios, those who identify with neither party are almost evenly split down the middle with their views on trump. To get a better understanding of Democratic, Republican, and non-affiliated parties’ views on Trump’s trials specifically, CBS News released their own poll, asking voters whether real crimes were committed or if the indictment and subsequent trials were politically motivated.
Indictment is politically motivated
Both
Crimes were committed
Republicans
71% – Orange
20% – Green
9% – Purple
Non-Affiliated
41% – Orange
21% – Green
38% – Purple
Democrats
7% – Orange
25% – Green
68% – Purple
(Pie graphs made by artist Sable Smith, data from CBS News)
As for what it all means for the upcoming election, according to Professor William Howell, who specializes in American Politics at the Harris School of Public Policy and the University of Chicago, in an interview with UChicago News, said how he predicts the indictments will affect the presidential races. He believes they will have little to no effect on Democrat or Republican views on Trump, stating “Trump supporters have come to terms with these charges as part of his dominant narrative that he is an outsider who stands to lay waste to the vast corruption of the federal government.”
Howell, however, still believes that there will be consequences for Trump’s alleged crimes, stating, “for a handful of independents in a few key states, their minds may be made up one way or another by these indictments… how those few voters perceive the indictments could be all it takes to win those key states.”
Winning those key states is what will decide the outcome of the 2024 election, and with Trump and Biden once again going head-to-head, the results of the election remain unclear. The race will be incredibly close, with Howell predicting that the indictments could fuel Trump’s win by providing further evidence for corruption, or they could be his downfall and be perceived as criminal conspiracy from Trump against the well-being of U.S. citizens.
Written by Sable Smith, Artist/Writer
