56% Of Americans Think Trump Should Drop Out Of Presidential Race, New Poll Finds

Despite the 37-count indictment against Donald Trump for his mishandling of national security information after his time in office, many GOP’s are still rooting for the former president to win the 2024 presidential election.

In an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist National Poll, it was found that 56% of Americans believe that Trump should drop out of the race, but 43% believe that he should stay in the running. When these results were divided by political parties, they became indicative of the polarization that is already infiltrating the election.

Eighty-seven percent of Democrats believe that Trump should end his campaign, and 83% of Republicans believe that he should continue. 58% of independent voters agree with Democrats.

In general, 73% of Americans believe that Trump was wrong in his mishandling of classified documents and subsequent interference with the Department of Justice’s investigation. Although this number dipped from 75% in March, the majority of people still feel that he should be held accountable. 50% of this population believes that Trump did something illegal, while 23% believe that, while his actions were not ethical, the former president did not commit any crimes.

One in four Americans do not think that Trump did anything wrong. Fifty percent of Republicans believe that the charges are illegitimate and that he is innocent; 64% of Republicans said that they will continue to root for Trump in his campaign, and 76% reported that they have a favorable opinion of Trump, despite recent events.

These results are congruent with the support that has been pouring out from Republicans on social media over the past couple of months. The GOP narrative is that Trump is the victim of a witch hunt; even those who are running against Trump in the 2024 election believe that he is innocent, and some have been considering a presidential pardon, should he be convicted.

Trump was arrested and arraigned last week in the Miami federal courthouse. He pleaded not guilty on all counts, and has declared that he will remain in the 2024 race, even if he has to “campaign from jail.”