50 percent in new poll say charges against Trump are serious

Half of respondents in a new poll said the charges against former President Trump are serious after the former president was indicted in New York City following an investigation into an alleged hush money payment to an adult film star.

Fifty percent of respondents in an ABC News/Ipsos poll published Sunday said the charges against Trump are serious, compared to 35 percent who said the charges aren’t that serious at all. 

The indictment, which remains sealed, revolves around an investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) into a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels shortly before the election. Daniels alleges she was paid to keep quiet about an affair with the former president, which Trump denies.

The Associated Press reported on Saturday that Trump is facing at least one felony charge in his hush-money case. 

Forty-five percent of respondents said that Trump should have been charged with a crime in the case, while 32 percent said no charges should have been brought and 23 percent said they didn’t know.

Forty-seven percent of respondents said they believe the charges against Trump are politically motivated, with 32 percent saying they were not.

There was a stark divide along party lines. Nearly eight in 10 Republican respondents said the charges against Trump are politically motivated, compared to 16 percent of Democrats and 48 percent of independents.

A New York grand jury voted to indict Trump on Thursday for his alleged role in organizing a hush money payment to Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. He is expected to appear for an arraignment on Tuesday.

Trump, who announced his third bid to run for president at his Mar-a-Lago estate in November, is now the first former president to face criminal charges.

The ABC News/Ipsos poll of 593 respondents was conducted from March 31 to April 1. The poll’s margin of error was 4.4 percentage points.