An avalanche of legal woes and bad news hasn't loosened former President Donald Trump's grip on Republicans, with his chances of beating President Joe Biden next year as high as ever, an Axios analysis contends.
"This dynamic," Mike Allen wrote Tuesday, "is similar to the stunning election of 2016."
Ticking off the legal barrage hitting Trump, Axios points out he's been indicted on 34 felony counts; reportedly learned someone who has worked for him at Mar-a-Lago is cooperating with federal prosecutors on whether he hid documents; is waiting for a verdict in a civil trial over a rape accusation from 1996 — a civil trial in which his taped deposition showed him unfazed by his "Access Hollywood" contention that celebrities like himself can grab women by their genitals; faces potentially strong challengers in the GOP primary including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott; and is embroiled in a Georgia investigation of possible illegal meddling in the 2020 election.
Despite the bad news, Trump has moved up in Republican primary polls, FiveThirtyEight has shown, as well as in general election tallies, an ABC News poll found.
Trump has already stacked up 24 endorsements from House Republicans — including several from Florida, beating DeSantis, and raised $34 million for his campaign, including a surge after his indictment.
Allen wrote, "For the first time in a long time, top Republicans and Democrats are telling us the same thing, in the same words — Trump looks impossible to beat for the Republican nomination."
Meanwhile, a Washington Post-ABC News poll on Sunday showed Trump ahead of Biden by 7 points in a theoretical rematch — and that even though majorities think Trump should face criminal charges: 18% of those who want him arrested still back him over Biden.
Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
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