Eight in 10 Republicans say Trump indictment is politically motivated, poll finds

Roughly 8 in 10 Republicans say the federal charges against former President Donald Trump are politically motivated, according to a new poll that finds Mr. Trump maintaining his double-digit lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The Reuters-Ipsos poll, which was conducted after Mr. Trump was indicted late Thursday, found 81% of those who identify as Republicans said politics was at play despite President Biden’s insistence that he did not interfere at the Department of Justice.

The poll said the share of Republicans who see the indictment as a product of political chicanery extends beyond the number of people who are considered part of Mr. Trump’s core GOP base.

Mr. Trump will appear Tuesday in a federal courthouse in Miami to answer the indictment, which alleges he unlawfully stored documents on U.S. nuclear secrets, military plans and other sensitive matters at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and then tried to hide them from authorities who attempted to return them to the National Archives. He has denied the allegations.

The poll found that 62% of respondents, including 91% of Democrats but only 35% of Republicans, said it was “believable” that Mr. Trump illegally stored classified documents at Mar-a-Lago as alleged by prosecutors.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and other rivals in the 2024 GOP primary have faulted Mr. Trump, saying he is to blame for his legal troubles, while others said the Biden administration is weaponizing the justice system.

The poll said 43% of Republicans preferred Mr. Trump in the GOP presidential primary, compared to 22% who opted for Mr. DeSantis. The rest of the field failed to crack single-digit support.

Pollsters said Mr. Trump led Mr. DeSantis, 49% to 19%, in early May, which was before Mr. DeSantis declared his candidacy.

Reuters and Ipsos said their poll was conducted among 1,005 adults nationwide from Friday to Monday and had a credibility interval of plus or minus 4 percentage points for all adults and 6 to 7 points for Republicans.