Views of Trump trial unchanged following verdict — CBS News poll

Opinions about former President Donald Trump Criminal trial in New York after the verdict look a lot like before it happened.

Just over half the country thought Trump was guilty before the verdictand now just over half think that the jury reached the correct verdict and that the trial was fair.

Most Republicans continue to believe that Trump was treated unfairly. Echoing the former president’s sentiments, those who say the verdict It was wrong to call the jury biased, to say that the evidence was insufficient and that the charges were politically motivated.

And in another landmark of the country’s partisan divisions, half the country thinks Trump is unfit to be president now that he has been convicted of a crime.

In total, we contacted the Americans again we interviewed before the verdict was reachedand hearing the jury’s decision didn’t change my mind much.

There are some implications for views of the US judicial system as a whole. Most Democrats say this has made them more confident in the judicial system. Among Republicans, three-quarters say it has made them less confident.

Overall, opinions on the verdict are in line with opinions on Trump’s guilt or innocence before the verdict was reached. Among those who thought Trump was guilty before hearing the verdict, nine in ten now say the jury reached the right verdict – and vice versa for those who previously thought he was not guilty.

All in all, the verdict does not arouse any widespread emotion in the country. Democrats are mostly satisfied and relieved, but few say they are hopeful. Republicans are more disappointed than angry, but not particularly surprised. (Respondents were able to express a variety of feelings.)

Most Republicans do not believe Trump was convicted of serious crimes in this case. Among those who believe the jury reached the wrong verdict, six in ten say the crimes were “not serious at all.” And in general, they feel that Trump has been treated worse than most other criminal defendants.

There are also disagreements about what punishment, if any, fits the crime. Most Americans don’t say Trump should serve prison time for his conviction, but opinions here are also very partisan.

Maintaining their view that the verdict was wrong, rank-and-file Republicans generally want the party to be loyal to Trump. We have seen this desire for loyalty expressed in many previous editions and also during the primary season.

While opinion didn’t change much in the immediate aftermath of the verdict, there is certainly some room for movement – ​​especially among those who haven’t been paying close attention. Those who paid the most attention to the trial hold the firmest beliefs about it. Among those who haven’t heard much about the trial’s pre-verdict, most say they are still not following it closely.

This CBS News/YouGov poll is based on a nationally representative sample of 989 U.S. adults who were recontacted from May 30 to June 1, 2024, following the conclusion of Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York City, after an initial survey carried out with 1,402 adults. from May 14 to May 21, 2024, before a verdict was reached. The margin of error for the total sample in the recontact survey is ±5.2 points.

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