• A third indictment of former President Donald Trump will only strengthen his support for the Republican primary, several Republican consultants and political experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
• Republican strategists and political experts told the DCNF they pointed to the impact of the first two indictments, and the former president’s approval ratings rose in polls as his legal troubles deepened. He said he expected to.
• Republican strategist Mark Weaver told the DCNF, “It’s hard to imagine what would stop that momentum. Not this indictment, not even a few more.”

Several Republican consultants and political experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation they expect the third indictment of former President Donald Trump to boost his campaign in the 2024 Republican primary. rice field.

Trump is scheduled to be arraigned in Washington DC on Thursday, where he will face off price Cases brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith include “Conspiracy to Defraud the United States,” “Conspiracy to Corruptly Obstruct and Obstruct the Jan. 6 Trial,” and “Conspiracy Against Voting Rights and the Right to Have Votes Counted.” ” is included. Republican strategists and political experts told the DCNF, citing the aftermath of two previous indictments, that President Trump’s growing legal troubles will only add to the tailwind in the Republican primary.

“President Trump really benefited from the first indictment, the Alvin Bragg indictment in New York. It worked like a traditional vaccine. It wasn’t in serious danger, and Trump is able to fend off increasingly serious charges because these charges are viewed as political,” said the Republican polling analyst. ‘s John McHenry told DCNF. “Furthermore, this accusation follows a judge who questioned Hunter Biden’s plea bargain, after the Department of Justice set one standard against President Biden’s family and set another. It’s relatively easy to accuse former presidents and their allies,” for Donald Trump. ”

Hunter Biden has been at the center of multiple Justice Department investigations for years, and most recently had a mistress contract on federal firearms charges involving two counts of tax misconduct from the Federal District of Delaware to avoid a prison sentence. tied. The plea deal briefly collapsed last week when prosecutors and defense attorneys disagreed with the immunity Hunter Biden received. They reached a new agreement that the deal only involved tax and gun prosecutions, leaving the door open to future prosecutions by the Justice Department.

“It’s almost like the Justice Department is trying to see how different things can look and how different things can be treated.” [give]”We will imprison the president’s key political opponents and turn a blind eye to the crimes committed by the president’s family,” Mike McKenna, Republican consultant and president of MWR Strategies, told DCNF. . “The more the government tries to suppress this man, the more likely voters and Republican primaries will refuse to cooperate.”

Since the former president was first indicted on March 30, the lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has widened dramatically, and Trump now has a 53.9 approval rating, according to Real Clear Politics (RCP). %, and the governor’s approval rating is 18.1%. average. In the two months leading up to Trump’s first indictment, the former president and Florida governor Ron DeSantis had the closest polls, with Trump and DeSantis each having an RCP average of 43.3% as of Feb. 25. and 30.5%.

Republican strategist Mark Weaver told the DCNF, “It’s hard to imagine what would stop that momentum. Not this indictment, not even a few more.” (Related article: ‘The politicization of the prosecution’: 2024 Republican presidential nominee reacts to Trump’s third indictment)

Trump’s indictment was a perfect match for the Bidens… https://t.co/qDuNcN3JnW

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 2, 2023

The former president’s first indictment comes when Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg pays former attorney Michael Cohen, who paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to silence an affair allegation. was accused of falsifying business records.

President Trump announced on July 18 that he had received a targeted letter from Smith suggesting impending indictment in the January 6 investigation. The former president was previously indicted by Smith in early June for mishandling classified documents.

Republican consultant Jay Williams told the DCNF that Republican primary voters will be indicted for the third time in what he believes to be a “leftist attack on the former president,” which he said was Trump’s. He claimed it would help raise money.

“It just makes him stronger,” Williams said. “He could be indicted 10 times, but that doesn’t change anything.”

Dr. Charles Bullock, professor of political science at the University of Georgia and fellow of the American Enterprise Institute, told the DCNF that the third indictment would likely help his chances in the primary, but would generally be a disadvantage, with no partisan vote. He said it could hinder his ability to gain democratic support. .

“At least in the short term, I don’t think Republican voters will react differently to these indictments than they did to the first two,” said Sabbath, a bipartisan poll analyst at the University of Virginia. said Kyle Kondik, editor-in-chief of Crystal Ball Magazine. The Center for Politics told DCNF. “Perhaps in the long run the weight of Trump’s legal troubles will weigh on his approval ratings, but at this point it’s all speculation.”

President Trump did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

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