A poll released as a New York jury began deliberating in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial shows a majority of Americans say the verdict won’t change their vote in November.
According to a PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist survey, 67% of potential voters said a guilty verdict would not affect their vote; 76% said the same about a not guilty verdict, including 74% of independents.
The numbers reflect a partisan split about the trial, with 25% of Republicans saying they would be more likely to vote for Mr. Trump if he is found guilty and 27% of Democrats saying it would make them less likely to vote for him.
Just 10% of Republicans and 11% of independents said they would be less likely to vote for Mr. Trump if he is found guilty.
The same poll last month found a majority 55% of Americans said they were paying little to no attention to Trump’s untelevised hush money trial.
The Trump campaign released a memo from their own pollsters Tony Fabrizio and Travis Tunis on Wednesday with similar findings about the verdict’s impact on voters.
SEE ALSO: Trump braces for ‘rigged’ guilty verdict as hush money case goes to jury
They said that when voters were asked how they would vote given a conviction or an acquittal of Mr. Trump, “the changes were insignificant.”
“President Trump’s lead fell by 2 net points among those asked how they would vote if he was convicted. His lead increased by 1 net point among those asked how they would vote if he was not convicted.”
They added, “Both of these shifts are statistically insignificant, meaning that by mathematical standards, no real change in the race.”
MSNBC’s Donny Deutch said that a Trump conviction would only help Democrats “a little bit” and would prefer to see the trial come to an end.
“I’m waiting for it to end, to be honest with you. I want Trump back on the campaign trail. I actually think, if he’s convicted, it helps a little bit on the margins, tiny, tiny bit,” he said.
The PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll was conducted from May 21 through May 23 and included 1,261 U.S. adults with a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points, 1,122 registered voters with a margin of error of 3.7 points and 907 likely voters with a margin of error of 4.1 points.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.