The indictments against Trump are clearly serious business, but GOP voters seem to have faith they will amount to nothing.
A new poll by CBS News offered stunning insight into what GOP voters are finding the most important issues before the primary.
One thing is clear, they could care less about the indictments, apparently thinking they will all fail in convicting Trump.
No Big Deal
The one indictment that scares me in terms of Trump getting the nod is the classified documents case.
They are using the Espionage Act to go after Trump, so if he gets convicted, he is then ineligible to hold office per the 14th Amendment, Section 3.
Why that is not scaring more voters, I have no idea, but the poll showed that 62 percent of the voters are backing Trump, with only 16 percent behind DeSantis. Ramaswamy was next at seven percent, and nobody else was above five.
So, the question then is where those other votes fall if this is head-to-head between Trump and DeSantis, as we could see come Super Tuesday.
Disclaimer… I am already on the record saying that I believe Ramaswamy and Haley will stay in through Super Tuesday regardless, simply because I believe they have a deal worked out with Trump to help him knock out DeSantis.
The poll also had an interesting number regarding what they want to see from candidates… and that is making their case and not attacking Trump, and I actually agree with that 100 percent.
Seventy-Seven percent believe the indictments against Trump are politically motivated, with only eight percent saying that Trump tried to overturn the election. The remaining 15 percent believe that both are true.
The reasons for considering Trump were an eye-opener for me. Ninety-nine percent said things were better, which is not surprising. The 95 percent that believe Trump is fighting for people like them was far more than I expected, as was the fact that 76 percent say they know him better than the other candidates.
That, to me, is not a reason to vote for someone. As a voter, it is your job to get to know the candidates, and this debate is a great opportunity for that. If then you feel that Trump is still the same guy, by all means, pull the handle for him.
There were two big takeaways for me from this poll.
First, the fact that Trump has spent so much campaign money on legal bills is clearly okay with his donors.
Second, and far more important… Trump's base now appears to be far more than anyone thought possible in the part. If that is now his base, he has convinced virtually double his normal base that he is being railroaded and should be elected president again.
I still do not know if that number is enough for Trump to win a general election, but it sure changes the way I am analyzing this entire situation right now.
