The indictments of former President Donald Trump by Special Counsel Jack Smith appear to be fortifying him rather than diminishing him among Republican supporters.
Fox News dispatched a correspondent to the Alabama Republican summer gathering, where it was evident that attendees still supported the former president.
Trump’s speech in Montgomery on Friday was his first since he was charged on Thursday in connection with the January 6 invasion of the Capitol, but it didn’t harm. However, the sample size suggested that support for the 45th president was strong.
“Are you serious?” asked one attendee named Mike. “Donald Trump is the best president that this country has ever had . . . and that goes back to Ronald Reagan. [Reagan] was a great president, and he ain’t as good as Donald Trump.”
“Who else would we support?” an attendee, identified as “C.J.,” told Fox News. “Our immigration problem, our economy? Trump. We’ve got to. We’ve got to bring America back. It’s terrible what Biden has done to our country. It’s horrible. We’ve got to get it back.”
Even some electors who were still undecided acknowledged that the accusations had not harmed the former president’s political base.
Sen. Lance Bell of Alabama, who has not yet selected a Republican candidate for the 2024 election, stated on Fox News that the allegations will actually be beneficial to Trump politically.
“I think the charges are helping him because people are seeing the political prosecution,” Bell said. “So I think the charges are helping him pick up support. It’s sad when we’re having that in our country — when we’re having political prosecutions.”
WATCH:
On the weekend, it was reported that Trump has increased his lead in a crucial early primary state, while the rest of the 2024 Republican field struggles to make any progress.
According to Fox Business, Trump won South Carolina by a 10-point margin in 2016, but he expects to surpass that margin in 2020.
According to a recent poll conducted by the site, Trump had a massive 34-point margin in South Carolina. In addition, over fifty percent of respondents believed he would be the finest candidate to unseat President Joe Biden.
Fox Business added the following:
The new poll, released Sunday, finds almost half of South Carolina likely Republican primary voters backing Trump in the 2024 primary contest (48%). That number is slightly larger (51%) among those who say they will definitely vote in the February 24 primary.
Lagging far behind is former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley at 14%, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 13%, and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott at 10%. No other candidate reaches double-digit support.
“Even though it’s still early, Trump is the proverbial 800-pound gorilla in this race,” Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducted the Fox Business poll along with Democrat Chris Anderson, said in describing the results. “The initial challenge is to see who can become the non-Trump candidate, and in South Carolina, that’s currently a three-way race among DeSantis, Haley, and Scott.”
Fox Business reports that Trump receives the most support from voters who identify as extremely conservative (57%), voters under 45 (55%), voters without a college degree (53%), voters in rural areas (52%), and White evangelicals (52%).
The majority of Trump supporters chose DeSantis as their second choice after Trump, followed by Scott (17%) and Haley (15%). In this order, DeSantis supporters voted for Trump (38%), Scott (29%), and Haley (19%). Scott became the second-most popular candidate among Haley supporters (38%) after Haley herself.
“Still, Trump leads among both groups (electability vs. shares views) by more than 40 points,” the outlet noted.
As the 2024 election cycle begins, a new poll contains a great deal of negative news for the Democratic Party and its leading candidate, President Joe Biden.