Donald Trump has a reputation for surviving events that would have killed public service careers years ago. He’s been slapped with two indictments and impeached twice, yet remains the frontrunner for the Republican Party’s 2024 nomination. While the Russian collusion hoax didn’t ensnare him, that sham investigation, plus the endless leaks from the intelligence community, did damage him and his administration from effectively governing, which was the point.
The latest Trump indictment over allegedly mishandling classified materials sets another trial in the thick of the 2024 cycle, which could have major implications for the entire GOP strategy should the former president clinch the nomination. Yet, before we get into that, let’s dive into this way-too-soon 2024 rematch survey which shows, despite all of Trump’s legal baggage, that he’s tied with Joe Biden. The poll caused much consternation from ABC News host Jonathan Karl. ABC News’ political director Rick Klein added that the polls show that there isn’t going to be an event that ends Trump as a viable candidate (via The Blaze):
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— Kevin Tober (@KevinTober94) June 18, 2023
ABC News anchor Jonathan Karl expressed dismay Sunday that voters still support Donald Trump after his federal indictment.
Karl asked panelists on "This Week" about a new Quinnipiac poll that shows Trump and President Joe Biden remain in a "statistical tie" even after prosecutors slammed Trump with a 37-count indictment for allegedly retaining classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and obstructing efforts to retrieve them.
"A poll from Quinnipiac, on a possible Biden-Trump matchup, puts Biden at 48%, Trump at 44%. This is a poll, again, taken largely after the indictment," Karl explained.
"I mean, that's got to make you a little — that's within the margin of error. That is a statistical tie," he bemoaned. "So, what does that say about Biden if he's barely beating [Trump] or, in some polls, actually losing?"
[…]
The pair cited an NPR poll that showed Trump's favorability climbing among Republicans and GOP-leaning independent voters post-indictment.
"It's remarkable," Klein said.
"The reality that his rival candidates have settled around — and I've talked to their campaign managers, I've talked to their strategists — they think at this point, there's not going to be a dam that breaks, there's not going to be an event that ends Donald Trump.
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And Quinnipiac is a left-leaning poll. Harvard Harris found that 56 percent of Americans feel that the latest Trump indictment is election interference from the Justice Department, a stunning development showing that the institution is no longer viewed as an impartial arbiter regarding dispending justice and the rule of law. Half the country sees them as errand boys for whoever is in charge. And for too long—it’s been the Democratic Party. The resiliency of Donald Trump, as an aside, is remarkable, but whether it will be good for the party, this cycle remains to be seen. It was not a positive factor in 2022. But these polls are too soon to discern any predictions other than Trump being reaffirmed as Teflon.
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