"Trump Guilty" Divides the US... 49% Say "Stop Election" vs 47% Say "Political Trial"

ABC News·Ipsos Survey

As a guilty verdict emerged regarding former U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's 'hush money for sexual misconduct' allegations, American public opinion has become divided. Half of the respondents believe that former President Trump should drop out of the presidential race, while the other half see the charges as politically motivated. The difference in opinion is also starkly divided along Republican and Democratic support lines.

According to a survey conducted by ABC News and Ipsos from the day after Trump's guilty verdict on the 31st of last month (local time) to the 1st, involving 781 adult men and women (margin of error ±3.7%), 50% said the guilty verdict was 'correct,' and 49% said former President Trump should stop running in the November election.

Former President Donald Trump [Image source=Yonhap News]

Forty-seven percent of respondents said that the hush money charges against former President Trump were politically motivated. Thirty-eight percent said the charges were not politically motivated.

However, about 51% of respondents said they believe former President Trump intentionally committed illegal acts. Twelve percent thought he was wrong but did not intend to do so, and 19% said he was innocent.

ABC News analyzed that public reactions to former President Trump's guilty verdict are partisan. Eighty-three percent of Democrats believe the guilty verdict is correct, and 79% said former President Trump should stop running for president. In contrast, only 16% of Republicans said the verdict was correct, and 16% said Trump should stop campaigning.

Among independent respondents, 52% believe the verdict is correct, and they said former President Trump should stop running for president. Forty-five percent also viewed the hush money trial as politically motivated. Among respondents negative toward both President Joe Biden and former President Trump, 65% believed the verdict was correct, and 67% said Trump should stop running for president. Fifty-one percent saw the hush money trial as politically motivated.

With the November election approaching, former President Trump's guilty verdict does not appear to significantly affect voters' favorability. Trump's favorability rating stands at 31%, the same level as in a survey by the same organization in March. President Biden's favorability rating is 32%, down 1 percentage point from the March survey.

On the 30th of last month, a jury at the Manhattan Criminal Court in New York found former President Trump guilty in the hush money case. Trump was charged in March last year with paying $130,000 through his personal lawyer Michael Cohen to former adult film actress Stormy Daniels to prevent her from revealing an alleged sexual encounter ahead of the 2016 election, and then falsifying company records by recording the payment as legal consulting fees. Following the jury's guilty verdict, the presiding judge is scheduled to sentence him on July 11.