In the wake of a federal indictment accusing former President Donald Trump of attempting to overturn the
results of the 2020 presidential election, Americans 54 – 42 percent think Trump should be prosecuted on
criminal charges, according to a Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University national poll released today.
Democrats (95 – 5 percent) and independents (57 – 37 percent) think the former president should be prosecuted
on criminal charges for allegedly attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, while
Republicans (85 – 12 percent) think Trump should not be prosecuted. The poll was conducted from August 10th
through August 14th.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans (64 percent) think the federal criminal charges accusing former President
Trump of attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election are either very serious (52 percent)
or somewhat serious (12 percent), while roughly one-third (32 percent) think they are either not too serious (11
percent) or not serious at all (21 percent).
There are wide gaps by political party.
Roughly 9 in 10 Democrats (89 percent) and 51 percent of independents think the federal criminal charges
are very serious. Among Republicans, 18 percent think the federal criminal charges are very serious, while 48
percent say they are not serious at all.
“Not only do a large majority of Americans regard the federal charges as serious, more than half of
Americans think the former president should face prosecution,”
said Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy.
Nearly half of Americans (49 percent) say the Justice Department’s case charging Trump with attempting
to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election has no impact on their view of Trump, while 37 percent
say it makes them think less favorably of him, and 12 percent say it makes them think more favorably of him.
Among Republicans, 59 percent say it has no impact on their view of Trump, while 11 percent say it makes them
think less favorably of him, and 28 percent say it makes them think more favorably of him.
A vast majority of Americans (71 percent) think television cameras should be allowed in the courtroom
for former President Trump’s federal trial related to his attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential
election, while 23 percent think television cameras should not be allowed.
“A divided country coalesces around a single wish. No matter what the outcome, Americans say if Donald
Trump goes on trial in federal court in Washington, D.C., they would like to watch it on TV,”
added Malloy.
ELIGIBILITY TO BE PRESIDENT
Nearly 7 in 10 Americans (68 percent) think that if a person is convicted of a felony, they should not still
be eligible to be president of the United States, while 23 percent think a person should still be eligible.
Democrats (82 – 15 percent), independents (67 – 25 percent), and Republicans (58 – 29 percent) agree if a
person is convicted of a felony, they should not still be eligible to be president.
DEMOCRACY
An overwhelming majority of Americans (83 percent) are either very worried (44 percent) or somewhat
worried (39 percent) about the system of democracy being able to function in the United States, while 15 percent
are either not so worried (9 percent) or not worried at all (6 percent).
“If democracy is the complex engine that guides the country’s future, it’s clear a vast majority of
Americans now fear a catastrophic breakdown is possible,”
added Malloy.
2024 REPUBLICAN PRIMARY
With the first debate in the Republican presidential primary race set for later this month, nearly 6 in 10
Republican and Republican leaning voters (57 percent) think it is very important that all presidential candidates
who qualify for the debate participate in it, while 27 percent think it is somewhat important, 7 percent think it is
not so important, and 8 percent think it is not important at all.
In the race for the GOP presidential nomination, former President Trump remains far ahead of the 11
other listed candidates with 57 percent support among Republican and Republican leaning voters. Florida
Governor Ron DeSantis receives 18 percent, his lowest level of support in Quinnipiac University’s polls of the
2024 GOP primary race this year. In February 2023, DeSantis was 6 points behind Trump and now he is 39
points behind.
In today’s poll, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy receives 5 percent support; former Vice President Mike
Pence receives 4 percent support; and former United Nations Ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki
Haley, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie each receive 3 percent
support. All other listed Republican candidates receive 1 percent or less support.
2024 DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY
In the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, President Biden receives 72 percent support
among Democrats and Democratic leaning voters, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., an environmental lawyer and anti-
vaccine activist receives 13 percent support and Marianne Williamson, an author, receives 9 percent support.
2024 GENERAL ELECTION
In a hypothetical general election matchup between President Biden and former President Trump, Biden
receives 47 percent support and Trump receives 46 percent support among all registered voters, essentially a dead
heat. While Quinnipiac University polls this year have consistently shown a close race between Biden and
Trump, this one-point difference is the tightest the race has been this year. Last month, Biden had his biggest
edge over Trump 49 – 44 percent.
MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION ISSUE
When registered voters were given a list of eight issues and asked which is the most important to them in
deciding who to vote for in the election for president, 32 percent say the economy, 28 percent say preserving
democracy in the United States, 8 percent say abortion, 7 percent say climate change, 7 percent say immigration,
6 percent say health care, 5 percent say racial inequality, and 3 percent say gun violence.
BIDEN
Registered voters give President Biden a negative 39 – 55 percent job approval rating, similar to
Quinnipiac University’s July poll.
Among all Americans, President Biden receives a negative 37 – 56 percent job approval rating, also
similar to July.
Americans were asked about Biden’s handling of…
- the response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: 42 percent approve, while 51 percent disapprove;
- the economy: 36 percent approve, while 58 percent disapprove;
- foreign policy: 35 percent approve, while 55 percent disapprove.
ECONOMY
Nearly 3 in 10 Americans (28 percent) describe the state of the nation’s economy these days as either
excellent (3 percent) or good (25 percent), while more than 7 in 10 Americans (71 percent) describe it as either
not so good (34 percent) or poor (37 percent).
More than half of Americans (51 percent) think the nation’s economy is getting worse, 28 percent think
it’s staying about the same, and 20 percent think it’s getting better.
Sixty percent of Americans describe their financial situation these days as either excellent (10 percent) or
good (50 percent), while 38 percent describe it either as not so good (26 percent) or poor (12 percent).
“Can you be generally happy with your personal financial position and still think the economy is going in
the tank? For a broad section of Americans, apparently so,”
added Malloy.
UKRAINE
Thirty-eight percent of Americans think the U.S. is doing about the right amount to help Ukraine, 34
percent think the U.S. is doing too much, and 21 percent think the U.S. is doing too little to help Ukraine.
There are wide gaps by political party.
Among Republicans, 21 percent think the U.S. is doing about the right amount to help Ukraine, 58
percent think the U.S. is doing too much, and 15 percent think the U.S. is doing too little to help Ukraine.
Among Democrats, 59 percent think the U.S. is doing about the right amount to help Ukraine, 9 percent
think the U.S. is doing too much, and 28 percent think the U.S. is doing too little to help Ukraine.
Among independents, 39 percent think the U.S. is doing about the right amount to help Ukraine, 33
percent think the U.S. is doing too much, and 21 percent think the U.S. is doing too little to help Ukraine.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans (64 percent) think supporting Ukraine is in the national interest of the
United States, while 30 percent think it is not in the national interest of the United States.
1,818 U.S. adults nationwide were surveyed from August 10th – 14th with a margin of error of +/- 2.3
percentage points.
The survey included 1,632 self-identified registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.4 percentage
points. The survey included 681 Republican and Republican leaning voters with a margin of error of +/- 3.8
percentage points and 666 Democratic and Democratic leaning voters with a margin of error of +/- 3.8 percentage
points.
The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Doug Schwartz, Ph.D. since 1994, conducts independent,
non-partisan national and state polls on politics and issues. Surveys adhere to industry best practices and are
based on random samples of adults using random digit dialing with live interviewers calling landlines and cell
phones.
Visit poll.qu.edu or www.facebook.com/quinnipiacpoll
Email [email protected], or follow us on Twitter @QuinnipiacPoll.
