According to a recent poll, over half of Americans are of the opinion that former President Trump should not be granted immunity from prosecution for any alleged crimes he may have committed during his time in office.
According to a recent survey conducted by Marquette Law School, the majority of participants (56 percent) expressed the belief that Donald Trump should not be granted immunity from criminal prosecution for his official acts. Furthermore, 62 percent of respondents held the same view regarding “former presidents” in general. This data suggests that a significant portion of the population does not believe that any individual, including Trump and other former presidents, should be exempt from potential legal consequences for their actions while in office.
According to pollsters, the claim of immunity made by Trump in special counsel Jack Smith’s case involving the alleged actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection has drawn attention from survey participants. Prosecutors have accused Trump of being part of a conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and leading a campaign to impede the certification of President Biden’s votes on that day.
The former president and his legal team have consistently argued that his actions leading up to and surrounding the insurrection are protected by presidential immunity.
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to address the issue, and oral arguments are scheduled to begin on April 22 on an expedited timeline. It is anticipated that the court will issue a significant ruling by the end of June or possibly even sooner.
According to pollsters, there was a range of opinions among Americans regarding Trump’s immunity argument, with the majority of Democrats dismissing the former president’s claim.
A majority of Democrats, approximately 89 percent, dismissed the immunity argument, with only 4 percent in agreement and 7 percent claiming uncertainty.
A majority of Republicans, 55 percent, believe that Trump should be protected from prosecution for his official acts. On the other hand, 27 percent of Republicans think he should not be immune, while 18 percent are unsure. When asked about immunity for “former presidents” in general, 32 percent of Republicans supported the claim, while 49 percent rejected it.
According to Charles Franklin, a professor of law and public policy and the director of the Marquette Law School poll, the noteworthy discovery is that Republicans change their stance when questioned about Trump rather than “former presidents.”
According to the expert, Republicans may not be fully aware that the immunity case being discussed is specifically related to former President Trump. It seems that they only realize this when it is explicitly mentioned. This leads to a significant shift in their perspective, as their opinions on “former presidents” in general change once they understand the connection to Trump.
Independents occupied a middle ground between Democrats and Republicans when it came to their stance on the immunity argument for Trump. Approximately 44 percent of independents rejected the argument, while 11 percent supported it. The remaining 45 percent expressed uncertainty or lack of knowledge on the matter.
According to a recent survey, interviews were conducted with 1,000 adults nationwide between March 18 and March 28. The poll has a margin of sampling error of 4 percentage points.
