Poll: Most Voters Believe Democrats ‘Engaged in Lawfare’ in Trump Trials

Most voters think Democrats are “using the government and legal system in biased ways to” politically damage former President Donald Trump, according to a Harvard-Harris poll.

The poll, published Monday, asked 1,961 registered voter respondents:

Do you think the legal prosecutions of Donald Trump are fair and unrelated to politics, or do you think the Democrats today are engaged in lawfare — a campaign using the government and the legal system in biased ways to take out political opponents?

A majority of 57 percent said they believe Democrats are engaged in “lawfare” against Trump, while 43 percent believe the prosecutions are both fair and apolitical.

Of Republicans, 83 percent think the legal system and government are being used to damage Trump politically, while 31 percent of Democrats and 57 percent of independents feel the same. Conversely, 69 percent of Democrats, 17 percent of Republicans, and 43 percent of independents believe the trials are fair and unrelated to politics.

The poll asked a very similar question, which yielded nearly identical results: “Do you think the prosecutions of Donald Trump are fair and unbiased, or are they politically motivated?”

A majority of 56 percent said the prosecutions are “politically motivated,” while 44 percent said they are “fair and unbiased.”

What is more, most voters (58 percent) believe that “Trump’s trials in the heavily Democratic jurisdictions,” including Manhattan and Fulton County, Georgia, should be moved to different jurisdictions “to avoid real or perceived bias.” This includes 40 percent of Democrats, 77 percent of Republicans, and 58 percent of independents.

A minority of 42 percent, including 60 percent of Democrats, say it is “possible to have an unbiased legal process in those heavy Democratic jurisdictions.”

The poll also showed Trump and President Joe Biden at 50 percent apiece in head-to-head match-ups where Trump is hypothetically convicted of a crime in either the classified documents case or the Georgia case. He leads Biden 52 percent to 48 percent in the hypothetical scenario in which he is found guilty of a crime in the federal January 6 case.

The poll was conducted April 24-25, 2024, and the margin of error is ± two percentage points.