Trump's conviction in hush money trial could hurt him with disaffected Republicans and independents

Donald Trump's guilty verdict in his hush money trial case hasn't affected his image among many Americans, with most Democrats and Republicans already having a firm assessment of whether they approve of him or not.

However, a new survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research did find some vulnerabilities in two demographics: disaffected Republicans and independents.

The first group added the event as a new argument against voting for the former president, with nearly half of all Republicans who had an unfavorable view of him not believing the conviction was politically motivated.

The latter group has remained mostly neutral, "indicating that there may still be room for the campaigns to sway them," an article accompanying the survey said. About 40% had a positive view of Trump, a similar amount holding a negative one.

Overall, the poll showed, U.S. adults were more likely to approve of the conviction than not, with half giving that answer. Regarding the rest, some three in ten somewhat or strongly disapproved, while the remaining 20% didn't approve or disapprove.

Democrats gave more homogenous answers, with 85% approving. Among Republicans, 61% disapproved, but 22% didn't pick sides and 15% did approve of the ruling.

However, Americans were more likely to see the conviction as bad for the country, with some 40% giving this answer. One third said it was good and 20% said it was neither.

The poll's figures are similar to another one from Ipsos published earlier this month, when about half of respondents said he should end his 2024 presidential campaign because of the outcome.

Almost half of all respondents (47%) said they think the charges against Trump in this case are politically motivated, while 38% said they are not. At the same time, a slight majority (51%) think Trump intentionally did something illegal in this case.

About 12% think Trump did something wrong but not intentionally, and 19% think he did nothing wrong. Public reaction to Trump's conviction is split along party lines, as the poll shows. Some 83% of Democrats said the verdict was correct and 79% say he should end his campaign as a result, while only 16% of Republicans believe the verdict was correct and the same percentage say he should end his presidential bid.

Among voters who identify as independents, 52% said Trump's judgment was correct and the same number that he should end his candidacy. Meanwhile, among respondents who openly dislike both Joe Biden and Trump, these views are more pronounced. Some 65% of Americans who view both Trump and Biden unfavorably said this week's judgment was correct, and 67% say Trump should end his presidential campaign.