Republicans want loyalty to former President Donald Trump — more than ever. Since he was indicted last month, 76% now say it is very or somewhat important, up 11 percentage points from January, according to a CBS News poll released Tuesday.
Although MAGA Republicans are more likely to view loyalty as "very important," even non-MAGA Republicans have shifted, with the percentage among the latter group calling it at least somewhat important up by 10 points to 65% from 55% in January.
Other results from the poll include:
- Among all Americans, 67% prefer congressional Republicans to permit law enforcement investigations into Trump to run their course, rather than try to stop them (33%).
- However, among Republicans, 56% say the GOP in Congress should try to stop these investigations, with 44% preferring they let the probes run their course.
- Among independents, 73% want congressional Republicans to let law enforcement probes into Trump run their course, while only 27% say they should than try to stop them.
- Most Americans think at least some of the allegations against Trump are serious enough to charge him if there's sufficient evidence, with 57% saying the charges against him in New York City ("falsifying business records to hide payments about alleged affairs and election law violations") are serious enough to bring charges.
- While the partisan splits on this issue are predictable, with Democrats much more inclined to seek charges, about half of Republicans say at least 1 of the 4 allegations against Trump (mishandling classified documents, attempting to overturn the 2020 election, not paying enough taxes, and falsifying records to hide payments) is serious enough to bring charges with sufficient evidence.
- When asked what the New York indictment means to them, 53% said that no one is above the law, even a former president, while 47% said it means the legal system has become too political.
The survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,065 U.S. adult residents interviewed April 12-14. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, and education, with the margin of error at 3.2 points.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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