Poll: Supreme Court & President Immunity

This Navigator Research report contains polling data on perceptions of the Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity, including awareness of the decision and whether Americans believe the Supreme Court is protecting Donald Trump from being held accountable or ensuring he is being treated equally under the law. We also look at which legal issues of Trump’s are viewed as most concerning to Americans.

Americans overwhelmingly agree that no one should be above the law, including former presidents.

By a 56-point margin, Americans agree that “no one is above the law, including a former president” (78 percent) compared to those who agree that “former presidents should be immune from criminal prosecution in most cases” (22 percent). Majorities across party lines believe presidents are not above the law, including over nine in ten Democrats (94 percent), nearly nine in ten independents (87 percent), and almost three in five Republicans (58 percent).

• While seven in ten Americans still agree more with a similar statement that includes the additional language “if there is evidence of criminal wrongdoing, the president should be put on trial before an independent jury the same way any other American would be” (70 percent, compared to 30 percent who agree more that presidents should be immune from criminal prosecution), it is more effective to keep the argument simple, particularly with independents (net +56 in the simpler version compared to net +40 with additional language) and Republicans (net +16 in the simpler version compared to net -8 with additional language).

A majority of Americans disagree with the Supreme Court’s decision that grants past and future presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution.

When asked about the recent Supreme Court ruling that “all past and future presidents largely have immunity from criminal prosecution,” most Americans oppose the ruling (net -12; 39 percent agree – 51 percent disagree), which is a smaller majority in opposition than when asked whether “no one is above the law, including a former president”. 

• The difference between these two questions is seen most strongly among Republicans: only one in five oppose the Supreme Court decision granting past and future presidents immunity from criminal prosecution (21 percent) compared to nearly three in five who agreed earlier in the survey that “no one is above the law, including a former president” (58 percent).
• CBS News similarly found that questions about presidential immunity can yield differences by partisanship depending on whether Trump is explicitly named: 45 percent of Republicans favor immunity for U.S. presidents compared to 67 percent of Republicans who favor immunity for Trump.

A plurality of Americans believe the Supreme Court is making decisions that shield Donald Trump from accountability for his actions.

By a 9-point margin, more Americans believe that the Supreme Court is “making decisions that protect Donald Trump from being held accountable for his actions” (44 percent) than believe “the Supreme Court is making decisions that ensure Donald Trump is treated fairly under the law” (35 percent). While seven in ten Democrats (net +56; 70 percent believe protecting Trump from accountability – 14 percent believe treating Trump fairly) and a plurality of independents (net +12; 38 percent believe protecting Trump from accountability – 26 percent believe treating Trump fairly) believe the Supreme Court is protecting Trump from accountability, three in five Republicans believe the Supreme Court is making decisions to ensure Trump is being treated fairly under the law (net -43; 17 percent believe protecting Trump from accountability – 60 percent believe treating Trump fairly).

More than three in five Americans find a range of items related to Donald Trump’s legal issues to be concerning.

About two in three Americans are concerned that “Donald Trump has been found liable for sexual assault” (67 percent, including 53 percent who are “very” concerned) and that “Donald Trump has been convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records” (65 percent, including 50 percent who are “very” concerned). These concerns are even higher among independents, with 73 percent being concerned by Trump being found liable for sexual assault and 70 percent being concerned by his 34 felony convictions. 

• Other top concerns Americans have about Trump’s legal issues include that “Trump is facing 54 additional criminal counts” (66 percent are concerned, including 51 percent who are “very” concerned) and that “Trump has been found guilty of committing financial fraud” (64 percent are concerned, including 50 percent who are “very” concerned).