The former president has surged to a 26-point lead over Ron DeSantis for the Republican nomination
Donald Trump has surged into his largest-ever lead over Ron DeSantis for the Republican presidential nomination following his indictment, a poll has suggested.
Trump, 76, is expected to appear in court in Manhattan tomorrow after becoming the first former president in American history to face criminal charges.
The indictment appears, however, to have boosted his standing with Republican voters after the publication of a poll suggesting that he has opened up a commanding lead over his main challenger for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
A survey by Yahoo News and YouGov, one of the first conducted after the announcement that Trump would face criminal charges, shows that in a one-on-one contest Trump leads DeSantis, the Florida governor, by 26 percentage points. He was supported by 57 per cent compared with 31 per cent for DeSantis.
A poll conducted by the same groups less than two weeks ago showed Trump ahead by eight points, suggesting that the indictment has strengthened his support within the Republican base.
It suggests that Trump’s political narrative of presenting himself as a victim of the establishment has mobilised his grassroots support base, not least because he regularly tells his voters that they are the true targets of the state’s strategy.
The Trump campaign said it had raised more than $4 million in the first 24 hours after the news of the indictment broke.
Trump leads DeSantis, the Florida governor, by 26 percentage points in a recent poll
Trump announced that he would speak on television at prime time on Tuesday evening in Florida after returning from court.
He also holds a majority of support — 52 per cent — against a wider, ten-candidate field of declared or potential Republican candidates. Support for DeSantis, who is yet to officially declare that he is running, has dropped from 28 per cent to 21 per cent in the wider race, according to the poll. None of the other candidates reached double digits.
Asa Hutchinson, 72, the former Republican governor of Arkansas, announced yesterday that he was running for the party’s nomination. He has said that Trump should not run.
The poll, which was conducted among 1,089 US adults in the 24 hours after the indictment was announced, does not have only good news for the divisive former president, however. It suggested that most Americans — 52 per cent — do not believe that he should serve a second term if he is convicted and only 31 per cent say that he should be allowed to return to the White House.
Donald Trump acknowledged supporters as he left his golf club
A Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Trump after hearing details of a $130,000 payment to the porn actress Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election. Trump denies having had an affair with Daniels in 2006 while his wife Melania was nursing their son Barron. He has condemned the indictment as “political persecution” and accused Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, of orchestrating a witch hunt.
The indictment remains sealed but it is believed that Trump is facing multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offence. He is expected to be formally arrested and arraigned tomorrow, setting up the historic moment when a former president will stand before a judge to hear the criminal charges against him.
Trump could use the situation to his advantage as he seeks a second term in the White House, experts have said. He has used delaying tactics in the many cases he has faced over the years and could do so again to push the trial deep into the 2024 election campaign.
His lawyers have many tools at their disposal to postpone proceedings, one expert said. “If they’re doing their job, they’re going to do everything they can to delay, delay, delay, delay,” Catherine Christian, who worked in the Manhattan district attorney’s office for 30 years and is now a defence attorney, told Politico. “Every single motion they can think of. That’s what they’re going to file.”
Supporters of the former president in Florida
In an attempt to drag his heels Trump could request that the trial be moved from New York City, ask to disqualify the prosecutor or even move to have the entire case dismissed. He could also rely on drawn-out negotiations over security arrangements for his court appearances.
Trump officially announced that he would be running for president in November, confirming one of the worst-kept secrets in American politics. He has since been joined in the race by Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor, the entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Hutchinson.
Announcing his candidacy on ABC’s This Week, Hutchinson said: “I’ve travelled the country for six months. I hear people talk about the leadership of our country. I’m convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America and not simply appeal to our worst instincts.”
Hutchinson, who conceded that it would be difficult to raise his national profile amid a crowded primary field, said Trump should not seek office while under indictment. “I’ve always said that people don’t have to step aside from public office if they’re under investigation, but if it reaches the point of criminal charges that have to be answered, the office is always more important than a person,” he said. “And I do believe if we’re looking at the presidency and the future of our country, then we don’t need that distraction.”
Source: The Times
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