About 56% of US adults in a March Marquette Law School poll believe former President Donald Trump should not have immunity from criminal prosecution for actions taken during his presidency.
That’s compared to the 28% of those polled who do believe Trump should be granted immunity and 17% who were not sure.
Pollsters asked half of respondents whether “former presidents” should receive immunity and the other half whether “former President Donald Trump,” specifically, should be shielded from prosecution.
The difference, the poll’s director said, appeared to be due largely to Republicans who generally oppose immunity for “former presidents” but who were more willing to support such protections for Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee.
The poll found that 55% of Republicans polled thought Trump should be granted immunity, while 32% thought the same with the “former presidents” wording. Across the aisle, 4% of Democrats thought Trump should be granted immunity and 9% thought the same of “former presidents.”
“The striking finding is that Republicans reverse themselves when asked about Trump rather than ‘former presidents,’” said Charles Franklin, a professor of law and public policy and the director of the Marquette Law School poll.
Other polls have also found little public support for giving Trump immunity. Across three surveys conducted earlier this year – from ABC/Ipsos, NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist and CBS/YouGov, only about one-third of Americans supported giving Trump immunity, with roughly two-thirds saying he shouldn’t be immune from prosecution.
