Majority of Republicans believe Biden 2020 win was not legitimate ahead of Trump indictment: Poll
Julia Johnson
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Ahead of former President Donald Trump’s third indictment, the share of Republicans and right-leaning independents who say President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory is illegitimate rebounded to almost 70%.
According to a CNN poll, 69% reported in July that they didn’t believe Biden legitimately won the presidential contest in 2020. Despite being farther out from the event, the number has ticked up from 63% last year.
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This number was at its highest in the summer of 2021, directly after Biden’s inauguration and the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, registering at 72%. It later declined to 67% in January 2022.
Of the GOP-aligning respondents, only 39% said solid evidence exists for this belief. At the same time, 30% reported having a suspicion that the win was illegitimate.
The poll was conducted throughout July and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.7 points for results involving Republicans and Republican-leaning independents.
In July, Trump had just been hit the month prior with 37 federal charges in an indictment from special counsel Jack Smith regarding his taking and storage of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
Later last month, the former president received a target letter relating to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. An indictment was further predicted to follow imminently.
While Trump was indicted in the matter on Tuesday, it was after polling data had already been gathered.
Trump’s support in Republican primary polling has reliably risen with each target letter and indictment, indicating that GOP voters are supportive of him in various legal matters.
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Trump’s primary competitors have mostly come to his defense, blaming the “weaponization” of the Department of Justice.
Trump will be arraigned on four felony charges at the Elijah Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington, D.C., on Thursday at 4 p.m. Eastern time.