Poll Results Suggest 53% Americans Believe Donald Trump Did ‘Something Illegal’

A significant number of registered voters who participated in a recent Fox News poll conducted between August 11 and 14 said they thought former president Donald Trump "did something illegal" in relation to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

1,002 registered voters were chosen at random from a voter file for the poll, which was run jointly by Beacon Research and Shaw & Company Research. For all of the registered voters, the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points. The survey also investigated how the general population felt about the legal matters involving President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.

The poll's results show a diverse range of viewpoints. Notably, 53% of the registered voters polled said they thought Trump had violated the law in connection with his attempts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election. Democrats expressed this opinion most strongly, with a startling 90% saying they thought the former president had committed an illegal act. Among independents, 62 percent of them agreed, while only 13 percent of Republicans did so.

While a majority agreed that Trump did something illegal, 20 percent, felt that Trump had done something wrong but not illegal. Additionally, 24 percent of respondents said that he had not engaged in any significant wrongdoing in this situation.

The survey also examined how the general public felt about how the Department of Justice handled Trump. Voters' perceptions of political motivation in the DOJ's activities declined from 55% in June to 51% in August, per The Hill. This change reflects an increase in respondents' perceptions that the DOJ's treatment of the former president may not be primarily motivated by party interests. A subtle movement in public perception regarding the ongoing legal battles against Trump is also indicated by the poll's finding that the number of people who think the DOJ's activities are not politically motivated has increased.

Regarding Hunter Biden, the poll revealed a notable shift in the public's perception of his international business operations in China and Ukraine. Voters who believe that Hunter Biden committed an illegal act increased from 37% in February to 50% in August. Democrats were divided on this subject; 19% of them thought he committed an illegal act, up from 9% in February. The percentages grew by 11 and 20 percentage points, respectively, among Republicans and independents.

Hunter Biden's ongoing legal battle following a botched plea deal to handle tax and gun violations is probably what has changed the public's opinion of his activities. The president's involvement in his son's business operations was another subject that was covered in the poll. 38 percent of respondents who were asked about President Biden's probable wrongdoing thought he had committed an illegal act. This percentage has been largely stable since March when it was 36%.

President Biden's actions, according to 25% of respondents, were unethical but not illegal, while 34% said he hadn't done anything particularly wrong. Only 7% of Democrats thought President Biden had broken the law, while 23% thought his conduct was unethical. However, the majority of Republicans thought that President Biden had participated in unlawful activity.