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On Tuesday, former President Trump was indicted on four felony charges for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. This marks the third total indictment and 78th criminal charge faced by Trump in the past year, as he maintains his standing as the 2024 GOP presidential front-runner.

New CivicScience data reveals an overwhelming majority of U.S. adults have an opinion on former President Trump’s charges, with just 9% claiming they weren’t sure about his guilt or lack thereof. Nearly half of U.S. adults with an opinion on the matter think former President Trump is guilty of ‘most or all charges’ brought against him. Forty-three percent think he’s guilty of ‘one or a few charges’ or not guilty at all – with 30% falling in the latter camp.

Women are slightly more likely than men to think former President Trump is not guilty of any charges (31% compared to 28%). Meanwhile, middle class adults earning $50,000-100,000 annually are the most likely to think he’s guilty of ‘most or all charges’ (53%) and those earning over $100,000 annually are the most likely to think he is not guilty of any charges (32%).

As to be expected, there are extreme splits between political parties on the matter of guilt. Over 8-in-10 registered Democrats think former President Trump is guilty of ‘most or all’ charges – more than four times the rate of registered Republicans who say the same. Despite the heightened polarization, 40% of registered Republicans think he’s guilty of at least one charge. Independent voters mostly mirror the Gen Pop’s outlook on former President Trump’s legal quagmire.

More unexpected indictment insights:

  • Americans who claim to be ‘much worse off’ than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic are far and away the most likely to believe former President Trump is not guilty of any charges (66%). Meanwhile, two-thirds of those who are ‘much better’ off believe he is guilty of ‘most or all’ charges.
  • Those who primarily trust TV news for unbiased news are the most likely to think the former president is guilty of most or all charges (67%). Forty-four percent of those who ‘don’t trust any’ news sources think he is not guilty of any charges, but 36% of this camp also think he’s guilty of ‘most or all’ charges.
  • Americans who are ‘very concerned’ about a recession in the next three months are more than three times as likely as those with lower concern levels to think he is not guilty of any charges.
  • Adults who are ‘not at all likely’ to switch banks in the next three months are the most likely to think former President Trump is guilty of ‘most or all’ charges (54%) – but those ‘somewhat likely’ to change banks are far less likely to think he’s guilty of a vast majority of the charges (just 27% say the same).

CivicScience will continue to track consumer sentiment of high-impact issues in the months leading up to the 2024 primary season and general election. For a deeper look at how your business might be impacted, book a meeting today and unlock a month of free premium content.