More than six in 10 Americans believe former President Donald Trump acted “illegally” or “unethically” by storing boxes of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida — but a similar number of Republicans say they want the 45th president to run again in 2024 even if he is charged with a crime, according to a poll released Thursday.
The NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist survey showed that 44% think Trump committed a criminal offense by keeping the materials after he left the White House while another 17% considered his actions unethical but not illegal.
Another 29% of Americans, including 63% of Republicans, say Trump did nothing wrong.
Overwhelming majorities of Democrats (93%) and independents (65%) say the former president did something illegal or unethical, but just 5% of Republicans say the same.
Looking ahead to the 2024 presidential election, 61% of voters say they do not want Trump to be the Republican nominee, including 90% of Democrats, 26% of Republicans, and 67% of independents.
A new poll showed 65% of overall voters believe Trump should not run in 2024 if he is charged with a crime. Getty ImagesIf Trump is charged, 65% of voters — 91% of Democrats, 73% of independents, and 30% of Republicans — say he should not mount a third consecutive bid for the White House.
But 61% of Republicans still say Trump should run even if charged, and less than half of Americans — 47% — think the Justice Department should take the unprecedented step of charging the former president.
“Former President Trump is losing the battle with public opinion over whether he did anything wrong by taking government documents to Mar-a-Lago,” said Lee M. Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion. “But his core support remains intact regardless of the results of the investigation.”
The FBI raided Trump’s beachfront estate on Aug. 8 and removed boxes of classified documents along with various personal items belonging to the 45th president, including clothing and magazine and newspaper clippings.
US District Judge Aileen Cannon ruled on Monday that a special master — a third party — should be appointed to review the seized documents to sort out materials protected by attorney-client privilege or executive privilege.
The poll surveyed 1,236 adults between Aug. 29 and Sept. 1. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
