A new poll from Quinnipiac University finds that most Americans think former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents after leaving office is serious, but many also think the Justice Department’s case against him is politically motivated.
The poll, which was conducted June 15-19, found that 65% of Americans think the charges against Trump are either very serious (45%) or somewhat serious (20%). However, 62% of Americans also think the Justice Department’s case is mainly motivated by politics, while only 34% think it is mainly motivated by the law.
The poll also found that 60% of Americans think Trump acted inappropriately in the way he handled classified documents, while 26% think he acted appropriately. And 51% of Americans think Trump should be prosecuted on criminal charges over his handling of classified documents, while 41% do not think he should be prosecuted.
The poll found that there is a partisan divide on these issues, with Democrats much more likely than Republicans to believe that Trump acted inappropriately and should be prosecuted.
For example, 95% of Democrats believe Trump acted inappropriately, compared to only 58% of Republicans. And 72% of Democrats believe Trump should be prosecuted, compared to only 25% of Republicans.
The poll also found that Americans are paying close attention to news about the charges. When Americans were asked how closely they have been following news regarding the federal criminal charges filed against Trump in connection with the way he handled classified documents after leaving the White House, 34 percent say very closely, 37 percent say somewhat closely, and 27 percent say not too closely.
The poll was conducted by Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy. He said that the poll shows that “Americans think Trump comes up short and they want to know more from him. That said, a majority say it’s all just politics.”
The poll has a margin of error of +/- 2.3 percentage points.