• Polling

Two in Three Americans Find Arguments for Searching Mar-a-Lago to be Convincing

Friday, August 19, 2022 By Bryan Bennett
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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
  • Compared to 2019, Republican views of the FBI and DOJ have declined notably.
  • More than half of Americans support the FBI serving a search warrant on Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago.
  • Messaging from supporters of the FBI serving a search warrant on Trump’s home is more convincing than messages from opponents – especially an opponent message on defunding the FBI.

Republican Views of the FBI and DOJ Have Moved Deeply Underwater While Democrats View Each Positively

Views of the FBI have soured among independents (net +10 favorable now, compared to +39 in April 2019) and Republicans (net -31, down from +6); views of the DOJ have improved among Democrats and independents, but have gotten worse among Republicans.

A Majority of Americans Support the FBI Serving a Search Warrant on Trump’s Home at Mar-a-Lago

Independents support the search by a 15-point margin, the same as Americans overall.

Majorities of Americans Are Hearing About the FBI Searching Mar-a-Lago and the Inflation Reduction Act’s Passage

Though news consumption was more intense this week around the FBI serving a search warrant on former President Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago (73% “a lot”/”some”), it only slightly outpaces awareness of the Inflation Reduction Act’s passage (63% “a lot”/”some”).

Nearly Nine in Ten Democrats and a Majority of Independents Believe Trump Committed a Crime as President

Democrats (88%), Black Americans (79%) and Hispanic Americans (70%) are most likely to believe Trump committed a crime.

Two in Three Find Messaging Backing FBI’s Mar-a-Lago Investigation Convincing; Defunding the FBI Unconvincing

Messaging that emphasizes that no one is above the law, that the FBI conducted a justified search, and that they’re following the facts wherever they lead are the most convincing.

About The Study

Global Strategy Group conducted public opinion surveys among a sample of 1,000 registered voters from August 11-August 14, 2022. 106 additional interviews were conducted among Hispanic voters. 78 additional interviews were conducted among Asian American and Pacific Islander voters. 102 additional interviews were conducted among African American voters. 101 additional interviews were conducted among independent voters.

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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.

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