The first national public opinion polls following former President Donald Trump’s fourth criminal indictment show that his support among Republicans is surging.
In both the CBS News/YouGov and Emerson polls conducted 8/16-18 and 8/16-17, respectively, President Trump has jumped 7-9 percentage points after the Fulton County, Georgia state attorney filed criminal state RICO charges on August 15 against him and 18 other former staffers and attorneys.
In the CBS News poll, 61 percent of those polled believe President Trump would defeat President Joe Biden, while only 35 percent believe Gov. Ron DeSantis would have a better change of defeating the sitting president.
The majority of Republican voters polled belief the indictments of Trump are politically motivated.
The polls also show that presidential candiadte Vivek Ramaswamy as surged and tied Florida Gov. DeSantis in the Emerson poll, and trails him by 9 percentage points in the CBS News poll.
For DeSantis, his slide in the polls continues as his popularity hovers between 15-18 percent support in all the surveys.
Overall and according to the RealClearPolitics.com average of polls, Trump has a 55.5 percent support, DeSantis has 14.5 percent support, and Ramaswamy has jumped to 7.2 percent support.
Former Vice President Mike Pence enjoys a 5.2 percent support from Republican voters.
The first 2024 Republican presidential debate will be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 23.
President Trump will not be attending the event and will sit down with Tucker Carlson for an in-depth interview.
