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One in 3 Americans think Donald Trump should get jail time for hush money conviction but his polling only dropped by 2%
Legal experts have told The U.S. Sun if Trump can be president from prison
JUST over a third of Americans believe former president Donald Trump should spend time behind bars after being found guilty in his hush-money trial, a poll by The U.S. Sun has revealed.
Support for the 2024 hopeful remains strong despite Trump, 77, becoming the first former president in United States history to be convicted of a crime.
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Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in his now infamous hush money trial in a Manhattan court last week.
He is set to be sentenced on July 11 at 10 am EST.
Trump’s conviction is considered a class E felony, which can result in a fine, probation, or up to four years in prison for each count.
While it remains unclear what the former president’s fate will be, approximately one in three Americans believe he should be sentenced to time in jail.
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The U.S. Sun's poll, conducted by , found that 36% of Americans think jail time is an appropriate punishment, while 33% support Trump getting a hefty fine.
When broken up by parties, around 62% of Democratic participants supported jail time compared to a small 12% of Republicans.
Meanwhile, 17% of respondents said they believed Trump losing business licenses would be an appropriate punishment for the conviction.
An additional 17% support probation, 13% backed community service, and 6% said they believed something else should be considered.
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The survey also found that over half (53%) of Americans agreed with the guilty verdict – including 90% of Democrats and 17% of Republicans.
At the same time, around one in six Americans (17%) said they believed the president is “above the law,” including 13% of Democrats and 19% of Republicans.
Stormy Daniels breaks silence on Donald Trump's conviction as she slams Michael Cohen forged signature claims
The poll, which surveyed 500 Republicans and 500 Democrats, also found that 37% of Americans believe Trump should no longer be eligible to run for president.
However, experts have revealed that the conviction will likely not hurt his chances for another shot at the White House.
“There's nothing prohibiting a convicted felon from being president of the United States," former prosecutor Neama Rahmani previously told The U.S. Sun.
"Theoretically, Trump could be in prison and still be president of the United States, earning the Constitution," he added.
Can Donald Trump still be president if he is convicted before the election?
The U.S. Sun spoke to a legal expert on the question of whether Donald Trump can still serve as president if he is in prison.
"If Donald Trump is found guilty, even if he's sentenced to prison, which is unlikely in the New York case, he can still be president," former prosecutor Neama Rahmani told The U.S. Sun.
"There's nothing prohibiting a convicted felon from being president of the United States.
"Theoretically, Trump could be in prison and still be president of the United States, earning the Constitution.
"The only requirements are that he be 35 and be born in the United States and not have engaged in an insurrection."
"The only requirements are that he be 35 and be born in the United States and not have engaged in an insurrection."
Despite the conviction, voter support for Trump remains strong.
The survey found that the former president saw only a 2 percentage point drop in individuals who said they were likely to vote for Trump in the November 2024 Presidential Election.
Specifically, 45% of individuals polled said they were likely to cast their vote for Trump ahead of the conviction.
After the guilty verdict, only 43% said they stuck by that decision.
What are Donald Trump's next steps?
A jury in New York City has found Donald Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide hush money he had paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election.
The first former US President to be convicted of a felony but remains the Republican frontrunner in his bid for the White House against Joe Biden.
Trump's sentencing date is scheduled for July 11, 2024, however, his attorneys may try to push this until after the presidential election on November 5, which is unlikely to happen without good cause.
Trump, 77, is still allowed to speak to the press, travel outside the state, and continue his presidential campaign.
His guilty verdict also doesn't automatically make him a convicted felon.
The charges against Trump are Class E felonies, the least serious category in New York law with each count carrying a maximum four-year prison sentence.
Trump could also pay fines and restitution as part of his sentence or face probation.
Judge Juan Merchan said he is weighing several factors regarding Trump's sentence, including his age and lack of a criminal record, however, the former President's actions during the trial could also play a role in the judge's decision.
A guilty verdict doesn't prevent Trump from running for president.
The US Constitution requires that potential US presidents be:
- Natural-born US citizens
- At least 35 years old
- Have lived in the country for at least 14 years
Felons are not barred from holding office.
While Trump has held a steady lead ahead of incumbent President Joe Biden in the polls for months, the recent survey found the two are now tied at 42% when individuals are presented with both choices.
Around 10% of individuals said they were unsure, 2% said they would vote third party, and 4% indicated they wouldn’t vote at all.
Trump, who is now a felon, is still expected to be named as the Republican party’s candidate during the Republican National Convention on July 15, just days after his sentencing.
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If the party unexpectedly nominates a different candidate, 85% of voters who said they would cast their vote for Trump have said they will stick with their choice.
Only 5% said they would no longer vote for Trump, while 11% remained unsure.
Could Donald Trump appeal his sentencing?
Donald Trump was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records with his sentencing scheduled for July 11, 2024, however, it's near-certain that he will appeal.
Trump, 77, will have to appeal to the New York Appellate Division’s First Judicial Department and if the court upholds the verdict, he may be able to appeal to the Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court.
His appeal will likely focus on the testimony given by adult film star, Stormy Daniels, who was paid hush money by Trump's team regarding a brief affair the two had in 2006.
However, legal experts believe it's unlikely that any appeal would be resolved before the November 5 election.
Trump is the Republican candidate in his bid for the White House against President Joe Biden.
To successfully appeal the verdict, Trump will have to show that Judge Juan Merchan made major errors during the trial.
The former President has consistently maintained his innocence and has denied having sex with Daniels, claiming that the Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, brought the charges to impede on his presidential campaign.
Trump's legal team will most likely argue that Daniels' testimony went into too much detail for a case regarding whether or not he falsified documents rather than having an affair with the porn star.
The defense could also argue that a gag order restricting Trump from making public statements on the trial violated his rights and that holding the trial in Manhattan, which is largely Democratic, was unfair.
The defense could argue that the charges were also illegally improper as some legal experts have argued that the case could be vulnerable to this kind of challenge because the prosecution's legal theory hasn't been tested on appeal.
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