As outlined in polling data from YouGov in association with The Economist that represents survey work completed on August 8, nearly half of registered voters believe it’s at least somewhat likely that former President Donald Trump will eventually be convicted in connection to the criminal charges he’s facing for having targeted the election results in 2020.
The exact portion is 47 percent, with 20 percent from the overall total saying they believe a Trump conviction is “very likely” and 27 percent going with “somewhat likely.” Those believing it’s unlikely only reached a combined 38 percent, while 15 percent said they weren’t sure. While the outcome of Trump’s criminal cases will be decided instead by a jury likely in D.C., these numbers suggest a high level of belief among the general population that evidence assembled so far against the former president is strong — no matter his consistent diatribes on Truth Social trying to discredit prosecutors’ efforts.
Even among Republicans, 31 percent believe it’s either somewhat or very likely that Trump will be convicted. Trump has consistently claimed that he is the victim of election interference because he is currently waging another bid for president, though all three of the criminal investigations that have culminated in his three criminal cases so far were underway and publicly known before Trump made the expected announcement that he was running in the latest presidential race. In a recent article for The Washington Post, Alberto Gonzales, who served as U.S. Attorney General when George W. Bush was president, criticized those from his political party who’ve helped promote the conspiracy theories from Trump about his supposed mistreatment.
Gonzales argued those pushing such claims were effectively attacking the rule of law. There remains no evidence that Trump’s criminal cases have procedurally been handled in any fashion substantially different from the many other charges and cases that routinely emerge from grand juries in the U.S., which must approve the issuance of these charges before they’re made official, meaning an ostensibly politically inclined prosecutor isn’t the last word.
