July 6, 2023

This new Politico poll puts the prosecution of Donald Trump in perspective.



The headline refers to the widely shared desire to see the trial proceedings completed before the election, but I don't think the public's enthusiasm for a speedy trial is going to spur the judicial system on, and once you know that people only support a mild or nothing punishment if he is convicted, you can see the light weight of the interest in giving the people what they want.

I've highlighted that answer because it puts the judicial process in proportion. In this case, where we can read about the things Trump did and how his antagonists frame them as wrongdoing and where we can anticipate that he's not going to prison, whatever the outcome of the trial, the criminal charges blend in with all the other arguments against voting for him. We don't need the courts to hurry up and tell us what to think. We can think for ourselves and vote for or against Trump independently of the courts.

AND: This question in the poll underscores my point (despite what it says in the boldface heading!):

ONLY the Democratic voter group has majority saying a conviction would undermine the likelihood that they'd vote for Trump. I'm sure that 58% includes tons of Democrats who already have a 0% chance of voting for Trump. Losing them has no effect on Trump's campaign. Look at the independents. 79% of them say they would not be negatively affected, including 8% who say they'd be more likely to vote for Trump! These criminal charges, like all the other news, are filtered through our bullshit detector.

55 comments:

Enigma said...

Trump jury trial = hung jury and no resolution.

It'll be a big, huge waste of time. The Democrats are fighting the last war and a war of retrenchment. They don't realize how much this is sucking away their future and 'vision.'

What did the Democrats gain from two Trump impeachment shows so far? Did they feel good about a hung jury and no resolution twice already? Masochists love to hit themselves with whips. Self-flagellation is a thing.

Dave Begley said...

I want to see the entire Biden Crime Family in the slammer.

Limited blogger said...

Cocaine is being snorted openly in the WH, but Trump should go to jail for taking and office calendar back to Florida?

tim maguire said...

73% of Democrats want Trump imprisoned if he's found guilty. If he's found not guilty, 72% of Democrats will want him imprisoned anyway.

Brian said...

The classified documents case will be dismissed through some sort of pretrial process. The prosecution doesn't want this to go to trial. It's just like the Mueller probe.

The left will seethe and blame it on the judge. He'd have been convicted if that Trump judge hadn't pulled the rug out from under them.

tim maguire said...

I'm sure that 58% includes tons of Democrats who already have a 0% chance of voting for Trump.

You can be quite sure that 57% of Democrats lied because they wanted the poll results to be as bad for Trump as possible and the left practices Taqiyyah.

Sebastian said...

"you can see the light weight of the interest in giving the people what they want"

Correct. It's about giving Dems what they want: a Trump win in the primaries, then a national race against Trump. Looks like they'll get their wish.

Gusty Winds said...

73% of Democrats want him put in prison. That's insane.

Dude1394 said...

Americans have a keen sense of injustice and corruption. Our current government is rife with both. It is ( just like the 6 years of corrupt persecution ) a political banana republic persecution.

Dude1394 said...

Americans have a keen sense of injustice and corruption. Our current government is rife with both. It is ( just like the 6 years of corrupt persecution ) a political banana republic persecution.

Leland said...

I'd support a heavy punishment under two conditions: 1) Evidence the Trump absolutely had classified material obtained after he was President, and 2) some recent example of a Democrat with similar mishandling of classified material being sent to prison.

Anything less suggests the whole endeavor is an effort to pin a crime on a person due to dislike of the person rather than an attempt to show a crime that would get any similar person incarcerated. Don't tell me about submariners that get prosecuted, because that point was made and ignored when it was a Democrat that should have faced a judge and jury.

William said...

It's disturbing that so many Democrats want to see Donald Trump behind bars. It demonstrates a vindictive, begrudging spirit....I suppose there were some here who really meant it when they chanted "Lock her up",but for most it was mostly a way of dramatizing the severity of her offenses. Anyway the 1/6 and Floyd rioters received widely disparate punishments, and it makes you wonder about the equanimity of Democrats....I read the Manchester bio of Gen. MacArthur. At the end of WWII, the New Deal Democrats wanted to go full Nuremberg on the Japanese war criminals, including the Emperor. MacArthur resisted their pressure. Less than a dozen were hanged, and their was a convenient fiction that the Emperor was not a part of any war crimes. It was unfair in that many Japanese got away with committing monstrous crimes, but, on the other hand, the American occupation of Japan was peaceful and successful....Look at the record. When the left is given a free hand to right wrongs, they tend to drift towards a Reign of Terror. I'm sure that many Dems think that just putting Trump in jail is not enough. Perhaps a jail term or, at the very least, a fine is necessary to curtail the enthusiasm of his followers. All this is counter productive. Trump followers are more supportive of Trump and distrustful of the Dems. I don't know if the Dems will win any elections with such a strategy, but, if they do, they will only succeed in making America harder to govern.

tim in vermont said...

It’s not just “bullshit,” it’s mendacity; calling it bullshit makes it sound harmless. They are lying in order to keep the power that they have seized. They are using this power to imprison protesters under invidious interpretations of the law and are trying to throw Joe Biden’s main rival in jail for activities that Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton, to name just two, were plainly guilty of.

The neocons have taken over the Democratic Party, look at gadfly, he’s a Democrat now, like Dick Cheney and George W Bush, and they have turned the same tactics that they used abroad to spread their evil, against our own citizens. To call it “bullshit” is to accept it like the teasing of a brother.

traditionalguy said...

The Gestapo now calling itself a Department of Justice and a Federal Bureau of Investigation has to find a way to stop Trump or the DC Crime Syndicate goes down in flames. The Networks have already banned his TV appearances and when that new CNN guy broke ranks he got himself fired as a warning to others.

Trump is no more a criminal than the falsely accused Edmond Dantes was. And everyone observing knows that. Our Rulers just need to find a way to authorize mass mail in voting again so the 3:00 AM fake ballot insertions in swing states can look like mail in votes.

They used up the Deadly Pandemic ploy. Maybe a threat of nuclear war or a on cue hyper inflation causing sudden bank crashes could be enough of a crisis enough to stop in person and voter IDed voting.

tim in vermont said...

It was our own CIA running those banana republics, this is what a country run by people who care nothing for democracy looks like. When they talk about threats to democracy, it’s standard projection propaganda.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

The leftists want him in prison. for beating crook hillary.

Temp Blog said...

They mis-spelled "persecution".

Gunner said...

The 16% of Republicans who favor imprisonment are likely Democrats pretending online.

traditionalguy said...

Of course the Roman Empire was 90% slaves, so he is a hero…wait, wait they were not all
african slaves.

Thank God the Colonial Americans demanded a Second Amendment. Their rifles were aimed first at British Officers. And that alone convinced the Empires of Europe to end slavery. Progs suddenly want to disarm Americans really bad. Could the New World Order just be another Roman Empire? They worship the sexual liscense and the pagan gods. Hmmm.

lonejustice said...

I am amazed that 43% of Americans think that Trump should go to prison, for what are obviously trumped up charges. And 33% of Independents, who decide our elections, think he should go to prison.

Trump can win the primaries, but there is no way that Trump can win the general election with those kind of numbers.

Jim at said...

The fact nearly three out of four Democrats want to imprison their political opponents reveals there is no co-existing with these thugs.

Mutaman said...

"Four in 10 Donald Trump supporters think Hillary Clinton 'is an actual demon'

And 84 per cent believe the Democratic candidate should be sent to prison as her Republican rival closes the poll gap"

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-demon-poll-republican-voters-beliefs-a7388546.html

gadfly said...

Donald Trump is certainly guilty of many crimes and he has lost all court cases where he cannot be trusted to speak the truth.

But opinion polls are ill-considered opinions, nothing more, nothing less.

gadfly said...

Donald Trump is certainly guilty of many crimes and he has lost all court cases where he cannot be trusted to speak the truth.

But opinion polls are ill-considered opinions, nothing more, nothing less.

gadfly said...

Donald Trump is certainly guilty of many crimes and he has lost all court cases where he cannot be trusted to speak the truth.

But opinion polls are ill-considered opinions, nothing more, nothing less.

gadfly said...

Donald Trump is certainly guilty of many crimes and he has lost all court cases where he cannot be trusted to speak the truth.

But opinion polls are ill-considered opinions, nothing more, nothing less.

gadfly said...

Donald Trump is certainly guilty of many crimes and he has lost all court cases where he cannot be trusted to speak the truth.

But opinion polls are ill-considered opinions, nothing more, nothing less.

gadfly said...

Jim at said...
The fact nearly three out of four Democrats want to imprison their political opponents reveals there is no co-existing with these thugs.

Who has been screaming "Lock her up!" at Trump rallies since 2015?

It is evident that Jim is doing his ho-hum "pot calling the kettle black" routine.

hpudding said...

Independents are 60% in favor of seeing him imprisoned or fined. Only 20% of them don’t want to see him go unpunished. The only poll that matters - politically speaking, anyway. Republicultists don’t matter. And who knows what polls would show after 12 jurors get to see all the evidence that right-wing Big Disinformation has obscured anyway? Ultimately the poll of those 12 jurors at the end of (this) trial - (there will be others) - is the only poll that matters in terms of criminal disposition. As anyone who didn’t prefer living under a corrupt tyranny knew all along.

Other than that, try polling whether “people should be punished for showing off national security secrets, or keeping them in a public bathroom at an unsecured resort?” Even Republicans know how they’re supposed to answer before they’re told that it’s Trump. Then they change it to find a way to give him special dispensation.

Maynard said...

73% of Democrats want him put in prison. That's insane.

It is par for the course when dealing with the leftwing cultists in the Democrat Party.

What is sad is that "normal" Democrats living outside California and NYC are starting to find the far Left acceptable. This will end badly for all of us.

lonejustice said...

Off topic, but today it's a rare, beautiful, warm, low humidity, 75 degree, sunny, no bug day in Eastern Iowa, so it's time for some Louisiana gumbo on the grill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUHl0GcS8Vo

Rabel said...

I had the pleasure of scanning through the three old line network news programs this evening.

It may be hopeless. Tens of millions are being mainlined propaganda on a daily basis. Three very light skinned AA's introducing handsome young men in tight shirts who put their hands up and on display (I guess that appeals to the ladies) while giving brief reports that amount to little more than the type of clickbait headlines we see on the internet but with a left wing slant and quick cut videos added.

The very small baggie of coke got about 10 seconds. It was very small and we may never know who left the very small baggie there. They may make it available for forensic testing later. Maybe.

It's hotter than it has ever been in the history of the world.

A Trump flunkie who helped him hide stolen national security secrets at Mar-a-Lago was perp walked.

There's a new cure for Alzheimer's disease approved by the FDA. Twenty-six thousand per year for a claimed small reduction in disease progression with an alarmingly high percentage of deadly side effects.

My brain hurts. More seriously, my heart hurts for what was once the greatest country in the world.

Jamie said...

I SO want to see the shoe/other foot questions and their responses! E.g., considering that Hillary Clinton was going to have died sensitive national security information in a private, non-secure server in her home, etc., etc... what would you support and punishment for her if she were tried and convicted?

hpudding said...

The fact nearly three out of four Democrats want to imprison their political opponents reveals there is no co-existing with these thugs.

They weren’t asked if they agreed with imprisoning all Republicans you illiterate, just the one who’s been indicted on dozens of counts of selling out US national security and has quite a few more charges coming his way.

But it shouldn’t be surprising to find out how difficult co-existence is for you. And how easy it is for you to label people “thugs” just for wanting to see the laws carried out impartially.

iowan2 said...

How can a poll be accurate when the vast majority have ONLY information provided to them by the propaganda media, that is spinning the lies coming from the Government....Yes that government, that hand their hands slapped for forcing social media to set the preferred narrative.

Oligonicella said...

Of course it will drag. Having the trial contaminate the election was the entire reason for the trial.

jim5301 said...

Dark storm clouds for trump. The swing in independent voters if he is convicted will make the difference in a general election. So can trump delay the trial till after the election?. Should be easy with the judge in his pocket.

Big Mike said...

The fact nearly three out of four Democrats want to imprison their political opponents reveals there is no co-existing with these thugs.

+ 1

tcrosse said...

It would be interesting to see the poll results if one of the options was the Death Penalty.

jim5301 said...

The fact that nearly 40% of republicans think trump should receive no punishment if convicted reveals their distain for the rule of law.

Gretchen said...

So let’s review the facts:
Trump was the president and had some documents at Mar a Lago. The president can declassify documents.

Biden had classified documents from when he was a senator, and was only allowed to view documents in a skiff. He had no right to possess or declassify. Biden also had documents from when he was VP, and had extremely limited declass powers, limited to documents he or his staff classified.
Biden’s documents were scattered at offices in Chinatown, at the U of Delaware, his beachouse and in his garage.
The Biden enterprise which Joe was a part of also had at least 16 shell companies and his 9 family members, including minor grandchildren were getting millions in payments from foreign actors including China, Ukraine and Russia through shell companies. There was zero work product from the Biden enterprises. Biden pushes for war in Ukraine where billions of dollars in aide have gone missing.

So Trump is the one in legal trouble?? Come on man.

donald said...

Are Jim amd Gadfly aware that Joe Biden stole classified documents as vice president in order to service his paymasters in Ukraine, China and other evil states (Yes Ukraine is evil)? Because if they don’t they’re morons and if they do they’re scumbags who should have body parts cut off due to their dishonesty.

donald said...

Do they care that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton also stole classified documents and destroyed every trace they could?

tim in vermont said...

"If this man gets elected, we'll all hang from nooses." - Hillary Clinton, as overheard by somebody who probably should not have been in the room.

tim in vermont said...

Hillary is more of a termagant than a demon.

Jim at said...

"And 84 per cent believe the Democratic candidate should be sent to prison as her Republican rival closes the poll gap"

And did we sent her to prison?

No.

Got some smartass answer to that?

Jim at said...

"And how easy it is for you to label people “thugs” just for wanting to see the laws carried out impartially."

You couldn't be more tedious if you tried.

Thug.

Jim at said...

"The fact that nearly 40% of republicans think trump should receive no punishment if convicted reveals their distain for the rule of law."

The fact you think you can continue to get away with one rule of law for one, and another rule for another reveals how clueless you are to history.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

All of the items on that poll are excellent choices.

Dude1394 said...

"Blogger Jim at said...
The fact nearly three out of four Democrats want to imprison their political opponents reveals there is no co-existing with these thugs."

Absolutely, there is no way to co-exist with democrats.

Dude1394 said...

"Blogger Jim at said...
The fact nearly three out of four Democrats want to imprison their political opponents reveals there is no co-existing with these thugs."

Absolutely, there is no way to co-exist with democrats.

hpudding said...

You couldn't be more tedious if you tried.

And thanks to doofuses like you, I don’t have to. ;-)

hpudding said...

And did we sent her to prison?

No.

Got some smartass answer to that?


Yeah. The answer is that you don’t mean anything you say and just use rhetoric to intimidate, inflate, bluff, kiss up, brag and otherwise BS.

IOW, you’re a bunch of phonies who are dangerously incompetent and unfair but have no integrity worth taking seriously.

hpudding said...

The fact you think you can continue to get away with one rule of law for one, and another rule for another reveals how clueless you are to history.

Republican yet again revealing his ignorance on how the jury system works and indictments are evaluated. T-Rump was asked repeatedly to relinquish the property that wasn’t his but belonged to the public, and he refused. People are routinely jailed for crap like that. No reason for him to wiggle of our responsibility for it. He thinks no rules should apply to him and so do you.

Mutaman said...

Jim at said.
"And did we sent her to prison?

No.

Got some smartass answer to that? "

The Know Nothings were too stupid to find the courthouse. That smart enough for you Sparky?