Toplines - Heartland December 2023 - Trump guilt

Survey of 1,085 National Likely Voters

November 30 – December 6, 2023

Conducted by Rasmussen Reports and the Heartland Institute

 

How would you rate the job Joe Biden has been doing as President… do you strongly approve, somewhat approve, somewhat disapprove, or strongly disapprove of the job he’s been doing?

 

27% strongly approve

17% somewhat approve

11% somewhat disapprove

44% strongly disapprove

1% not sure

 

Former president Donald Trump has been formally charged with crimes associated with an alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 election. Do you think Donald Trump is guilty, not guilty, or are you unsure if he’s guilty or not guilty?

 

                  47% he is guilty

                  41% he is not guilty

                  13% not sure

 

If President Trump is found guilty of crimes associated with attempting to overturn the 2020 election, what, in your opinion, should be his punishment?

                 
                  34% he should pay a fine

                  5% he should get less than one year in prison

                  16% he should get between one and five years in prison

                  16% he should get more than 5 years in prison

                  7% he should get life in prison

                  3% he should get permanently exiled to a foreign nation

                  2% he should get the death penalty

                  18% not sure

 

Asked of the 47% of respondents who said Trump was guilty:

 

If President Trump is found guilty of crimes associated with attempting to overturn the 2020 election, what, in your opinion, should be his punishment?

                 
                  8% he should pay a fine

                  5% he should get less than one year in prison

                  29% he should get between one and five years in prison

                  32% he should get more than 5 years in prison

                  13% he should get life in prison

                  4% he should get permanently exiled to a foreign nation

                  4% he should get the death penalty

                  6% not sure

 

Asked of all:

 

If President Trump is found guilty of crimes associated with attempting to overturn the 2020 election, do you think he should be banned from running from public office again?

 

54% yes

41% no

5% not sure

 

If President Trump is found guilty of crimes associated with attempting to overturn the 2020 election, do you think members of the media who also alleged that fraud tainted the election results should be criminally punished as well?

 

48% yes

33% no

19% not sure

 

Generally speaking, what should the punishment be for those in the media who alleged that the outcome of the 2020 Presidential election was fraudulent?

 

                  33% they should pay a fine

                  18% they should be permanently banned from speaking publicly

                  4% they should get less than one year in prison

                  7% they should get more than one year in prison

                  10% they should receive both a public speech ban and time in prison

                  28% not sure

 

Asked by the 48% of respondents who said that the media was guilty:

 

Generally speaking, what should the punishment be for those in the media who alleged that the outcome of the 2020 Presidential election was fraudulent?

 

                  32% they should pay a fine

                  23% they should be permanently banned from speaking publicly

                  5% they should get less than one year in prison

                  11% they should get more than one year in prison

                  18% they should receive both a public speech ban and time in prison

                  12% not sure

 

NOTE: Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence