Former President Donald Trump is the frontrunner in the Republican primary race and also leads President Joe Biden in hypothetical two-way matchups. Trump, however, faces threats from the multiple legal cases pending against him, results of a new poll released Wednesday showed.
What Happened: Forty-one percent of survey respondents said they support the removal of Trump’s name from their states’ 2024 presidential ballot based on the provisions of the 14th Amendment, a University of Massachusetts Amherst Poll found.
Thirty-six percent either opposed or strongly opposed the removal of Trump from state ballots and 16% remained neutral, neither supporting nor opposing such a move.
The 14th Amendment prohibits any individual who has taken part in an insurrection, or given aid or comfort to insurrectionists, from serving as a federal elected official.
The UMass Amherst poll, conducted by YouGov between Jan. 25 and Jan. 30, surveyed 1,064 respondents, asking them about the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, the legal challenges facing Trump and the hypothetical impeachment of Biden.
There was a stark partisan divide on the question of eliminating Trump from the ballots, with 72% of the Democrats supporting Trump’s removal, while 77% of the Republicans opposed his removal.
“If the court's decision is in part influenced by public opinion, the news is not good for the former president,” said Tatishe Nteta, provost professor of political science at UMass Amherst and director of the poll.
In more bad news for Trump, 58% of Americans said the former president is probably or definitely guilty of attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The remaining 42% thought the former president is probably or definitely innocent.
The difference between the percentage of respondents who felt Trump was guilty and those who wanted his name to be removed from state ballots apparently suggests that some people want him to contest and be defeated in the general election.
Professor Jesse Rhodes, co-director of the poll, said, “It's likely that some Americans believe that rather than being removed by the courts or election administrators, Trump should be repudiated by the people through elections. It's also quite possible that some Americans fear that trying to remove Trump from the ballot will turn him into a political martyr, inflaming his supporters and increasing his political influence."
The poll also found that 64% of the public wanted Associate Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 election, with four in 10 stating that he “definitely should remove himself.” Thomas’ wife Ginni Thomas allegedly emailed state legislators in a number of states, urging them to overturn the 2020 election results.
Why It’s Important: The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday began hearings about Trump’s eligibility to be on the ballots, after the Colorado Supreme court ruled that the former president violated the 14th Amendment.
Trump has already been found guilty in two civil cases brought by author E. Jean Carroll and has been asked to paid damages amounting to about $89 million.
The former president is awaiting a ruling stemming from the New York civil fraud case brought by Attorney General Letitia James after he was found to have inflated the value of his assets and properties in a bid to secure bank loans. The trial ended in January, and the ruling could come in mid-February.
The former president’s hush money case, in which he allegedly falsified accounts to pay hush money to adult star Stormy Daniels, is set to go on trial on March 25.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has also charged Trump with the mishandling of classified documents and the case is set to start on May 20. The DOJ has additionally charged him with election subversion. Furthermore, Trump faces an election subversion case in Fulton County, Georgia.
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