Half say Trump verdict correct, should end campaign: Poll

About half of Americans believe former President Trump should end his campaign, describing his guilty verdict as “correct,” according to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll published Sunday.

Trump was convicted Thursday of 34 felony counts of falsifying business documents, the first time a former president was ever convicted of a crime. He has appealed the ruling.

Exactly 50 percent of those polled said Trump’s guilty verdict was the correct decision by the New York jury, and 49 percent said Trump should immediately drop out of the presidential race. 

Despite that, Trump’s favorability did not fall in the poll compared to previous editions. About 31 percent of Americans have a favorable view of the former president both before and after the conviction.

The charges were connected to hush money payments made in the weeks before the 2016 election, intended to cover up alleged past affairs between Trump and an adult film star.

The trial is divisive, according to the poll, with just less than half of respondents — 47 percent — agreeing with Trump that the charges against him are politically motivated. 

A majority, 51 percent, said they believe Trump intentionally did something wrong in the case, and 12 percent said he did something wrong unintentionally.

Just 18 percent of Republicans agreed with the guilty verdict, while 83 percent of Democrats agreed, according to the poll. Among independents, a critical voting bloc, 52 percent said they agree with the guilty verdict.

President Biden also remains unpopular, according to the poll. The president has a 32 percent approval rating, 1 point lower than a month ago and nearly the same as Trump’s.

Trump leads Biden by about 1 percentage point in The Hill/Decision Desk HQ average of polls, though Biden has gained on Trump since the conviction, leading Trump in most polls since Thursday.