Trump could lose half his voters if he’s convicted, poll shows

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Nearly half of Republican supporters wouldn’t vote for Donald Trump in the upcoming election if the former president is convicted of a felony, according to a new poll.

Mr Trump, who is the front-runner in the Republican nomination contest for the November 2024 presidential election, pleaded not guilty in court on Thursday to federal charges.

He was indicted on Tuesday on four charges as part of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the alleged conspiracy and the 6 January Capitol riot.

The 45th president has been separately charged in two other criminal cases: one in a New York court that revolves around hush money payments to an adult film actress; and another in federal court where he is charged with retaining sensitive and classified documents after leaving the White House.

In the Reuters/Ipsos poll, 45 per cent of Republican respondents said they would not vote for Mr Trump if he were convicted, while more than 35 per cent said they would. The rest said they didn't know.

At least 52 per cent of Republicans said they would not vote for Mr Trump if he were "currently serving time in prison" compared to 28 per cent who said they would.

The new poll showed that Republicans broadly sympathise with Mr Trump's accusations of political persecution.

Seventy-five per cent of Republican respondents agreed with a statement that the charges against the former president were "politically motivated", while 20 per cent disagreed and the rest said they didn't know.

About two-thirds of Republicans – 66 per cent – described as "not believable" the accusation in Mr Trump's latest indictment that he solicited election fraud. Twenty-nine per cent said it was believable and the rest were not sure.

Republican respondents also described themselves as more likely to withhold their votes on Election Day from an unnamed convicted felon than one named Donald Trump.

Additional reporting from agencies