40 percent in new poll say Trump should be sentenced to prison in hush money case

Four in 10 U.S. voters believe former President Trump should receive jail time for his hush money conviction, though this sentiment varies at the party level, according to a new poll.

A survey from Emerson College Polling, released Thursday, found 40 percent of registered voters think Trump should be sentenced to prison, while 25 percent said he should pay a fine and 15 percent said probation. Twenty percent were unsure.

Trump became the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a felony on May 30, when he was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in his New York hush money case. The charges were in connection with reimbursements made to Trump’s former fixer and onetime attorney, Michael Cohen, for a $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged past affair.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 11, though incarceration would be a rare punishment for a first-time offender convicted of Trump’s charges in New York.

Pollsters noted more than half — or 67 percent — of Democrats surveyed said Trump should serve prison time, while 46 percent of Republicans think he should pay a fine. Independents were split more evenly, with 42 percent of the party voters saying Trump should serve prison time, 22 percent choosing a fine and 14 percent choosing probation, per the poll.

Trump appears to have maintained his support in the immediate aftermath of his felony conviction, according to the poll.

The former president’s support stayed at 46 percent, the same as the poll found in April, though his lead over President Biden has shrunk, tightening from 3 points to 1 point in the most recent poll.

A plurality of 40 percent said Trump’s convictions do not impact their decision at the polls this November, while a third said they make them less likely to support him, and 27 percent said they make them more likely to support him.

The poll was conducted June 4-5 among 1,000 registered voters. The credibility interval, similar to a margin of error, was 3 percentage points.