Poll: Majority of Americans Believe Trump Should Have Been Convicted

Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 12:31 pm

A majority of Americans believe former President Donald Trump should have been convicted for inciting an insurrection against Congress, according to the latest ABC News/Ipsos survey conducted February 13-14. The survey found that 77% of respondents believe Trump’s impeachment trial was a partisan affair, with senators voting along the party line. Just 23% of respondents said they believe senators voted based on the facts that were before them.

88% of Democrats said Trump should have been convicted based on the evidence while only 14% of Republicans said the same. 64% of independents who participated in the survey said the Senate should have convicted Trump.

Trump was acquitted on Saturday following a quick impeachment trial that examined his actions during the siege of the United States Capitol, which took place last month after groups of his supporters attempted to stop the electoral certification of President Joe Biden‘s win. Five people died as a result of the attack, including a Capitol Police officer who later died of his injuries. He could still face criminal charges for inciting the insurrection.

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The majority of Americans also believe Trump played a role in inciting the insurrection, according to an Ipsos poll conducted for Reuters that was published on Saturday. 71% of Americans said Trump bears at least partial responsibility for the attack. 30% said Trump bears full responsibility.tr

Republican senators who voted to convict the former president are now facing backlash in their home states. Seven Republicans joined 50 Democrats in impeaching the president and those seven individuals have experienced significant pushback from their own party since the vote.

The North Carolina Republican Party is set to vote later today to censure Senator Richard Burr for his vote to convict Trump. North Carolina’s GOP Chair Michael Whatley said his vote “in a trial that he declared unconstitutional is shocking and disappointing.”

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell appears to have set his sights on guiding the GOP in a post-Trump world and retaking the Senate in 2022.

“My goal is, in every way possible, to have nominees representing the Republican Party who can win in November,” McConnell told Politico. “Some of them may be people the former president likes. Some of them may not be. The only thing I care about is electability.”

Alan Herrera

Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.