Poll finds Americans see investigation into Trump’s porn star payoff as political, but also believable
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The findings underscore the unprecedented nature of the criminal probes surrounding Mr Donald Trump.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON - About half of Americans believe a New York investigation into whether Mr Donald Trump paid hush money to a porn star
The two-day poll, concluded on Tuesday, found 54 per cent of respondents – including 80 per cent of the former president’s fellow Republicans and 32 per cent of Democrats – were of the view that politics was driving the criminal case being weighed by a Manhattan grand jury.
Around 70 per cent of respondents, including half of Republicans, said it was believable that Mr Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign paid the adult film actress Stormy Daniels for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter.
Some 62 per cent of respondents, including a third of Republicans, said it was also believable that Mr Trump falsified business records and committed fraud.
The findings underscore the unprecedented nature of the criminal probes surrounding Mr Trump as he seeks the Republican nomination to run for the White House again in 2024.
No United States president has ever faced criminal charges
Mr Trump, who is facing potentially stiff competition in his third bid for the Republican nomination, has denied ever having an extramarital affair with Ms Daniels,
He said last Saturday he expected to be arrested on Tuesday and has asked his supporters to respond by giving money to his presidential campaign.
A Manhattan grand jury is weighing whether to indict him.
Republican Party officials, strategists and analysts have said Mr Trump’s prosecution would only harden the determination of his most loyal supporters.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a potential rival for the Republican nomination, has criticised what he called the politicisation of the Manhattan district attorney’s office but has also taken a veiled swipe at Mr Trump.
Mr Trump responded aggressively with an innuendo-filled post on his Truth Social platform.
About nine in 10 respondents said they had heard about the Manhattan prosecutors’ case against Mr Trump, one of several probes dogging him.
A county prosecutor in Georgia is considering charges that Mr Trump tried to overturn his 2020 election defeat.
Mr Donald Trump has denied having sex with adult film star Stormy Daniels and said he did nothing wrong.
PHOTOS: REUTERS, AFP
Mr Trump falsely claims his loss to Democratic President Joe Biden was due to fraud and was recorded asking Georgia election officials to find the votes Mr Trump needed to win.
Mr Trump also faces US Justice Department probes into his retention of classified documents after leaving the White House, and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election result.
Some 54 per cent of respondents – including 85 per cent of Democrats and 21 per cent of Republicans – said the accusation that Mr Trump solicited election fraud was believable.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll gathered responses from 1,003 adults nationwide, including 415 self-described Democrats and 383 Republicans.
The poll had a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of about 4 to 6 percentage points in either direction. REUTERS
