• Polling

A Majority of Americans Support the Department of Justice Filing Criminal Charges Against Trump

Friday, January 20, 2023 By Bryan Bennett
Download Full Report
Welcome to NAVIGATOR – a project designed to better understand the American public’s views on issues of the day and help advocates, elected officials, and other interested parties understand the language, imagery, and messaging needed to make and win key policy arguments.
Key takeaways
  • A range of Republican figures are viewed unfavorably, and both the Republican Party and “MAGA Republicans” specifically are viewed less favorably than the Democratic Party.
  • Democrats are more likely to say their side has been winning in recent years and are more satisfied with the outcome of last year’s midterm elections.
  • Majorities supported the January 6th investigation, believe Trump committed a crime as president, and support the Department of Justice filing criminal charges against him.

A Range of Key Republican Figures Are Viewed Unfavorably

Republican leaders across the board are underwater. Those identifying as MAGA Republicans* are more likely to rate all but Mitch McConnell more favorably than non-MAGA Republicans, though both place the Senate Minority Leader underwater.

  • Those identifying as MAGA Republicans* have net favorable views of Marjorie Taylor Greene (+9) while non-MAGA Republicans rate her more unfavorably (net -9).

Only Half Can Accurately Report House and Senate Control, Democrats Much More Satisfied with Midterm Results

Republicans are more likely to accurately report the midterm outcomes (58%) than Democrats (48%) or independents (39%).

  • By a 37-point margin, Democrats are satisfied with the outcome of the midterms, while Republicans are dissatisfied by 30 points.

Three in Five Supported the House January 6th Investigation, Including a Plurality of Non-MAGA Republicans

Majorities of Democrats, independents, and every racial group continue to express support for the investigation; a plurality of nonMAGA Republicans (44%) supported the investigation, compared to just 27% of MAGA-identifying Republicans*.

Majorities Think Trump Committed a Crime As President and Support the DOJ Filing Criminal Charges Against Him

A majority of independents believe that Trump committed a crime as president (net +28 “definitely” or “probably”) and support the Department of Justice filing criminal charges against the former president (net +18 support).

MAGA Republicans Are Consolidated Behind Trump While Non-MAGA Republicans Are Not

Majorities of Americans want the Republican Party to make some changes and move in a new direction, though Republicans want their party to continue the path laid out by Trump: however, they are divided on who should lead the charge. Those identifying as MAGA Republicans* are more inclined to prefer Trump remain leader of the party (63%) while a plurality of non-MAGA Republicans want a new leader instead (40%).

Liberal Democrats Most Likely to Report Side Winning Recently, Very Conservative GOP Most Likely to Report Losing Recently

While two in three liberal Democrats report mostly winning/winning more than losing (66%), 66% of very conservative Republicans report mostly losing/losing more than winning recently.

About The Study

Global Strategy Group conducted public opinion surveys among a sample of 1,000 registered voters from January 5-January 9, 2023. 100 additional interviews were conducted among Hispanic voters. 74 additional interviews were conducted among Asian American and Pacific Islander voters. 100 additional interviews were conducted among African American voters. 101 additional interviews were conducted among independent voters.

Like the info here?

Get it directly in your inbox when new polls are released.

About Navigator

In a world where the news cycle is the length of a tweet, our leaders often lack the real-time public-sentiment analysis to shape the best approaches to talking about the issues that matter the most. Navigator is designed to act as a consistent, flexible, responsive tool to inform policy debates by conducting research and reliable guidance to inform allies, elected leaders, and the press. Navigator is a project led by pollsters from Global Strategy Group and GBAO along with an advisory committee, including: Andrea Purse, progressive strategist; Arkadi Gerney, The Hub Project; Joel Payne, The Hub Project; Christina Reynolds, EMILY’s List; Delvone Michael, Working Families; Felicia Wong, Roosevelt Institute; Mike Podhorzer, AFL-CIO; Jesse Ferguson, progressive strategist; Navin Nayak, Center for American Progress Action Fund; Stephanie Valencia, EquisLabs; and Melanie Newman, Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

For press inquiries contact: press@navigatorresearch.org