OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The indictments against former President Donald Trump by Special Counsel Jack Smith seem to be making him stronger — not weaker — with Republican voters.
When Fox News sent a reporter to the Alabama Republican summer meeting, it was more than obvious that the attendees were still loyal to the former president.
Although it didn’t hurt, Trump’s Friday speech in Montgomery was his first since being charged on Thursday in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol incursion. However, based on the sample size, it appeared that support for the 45th president was unwavering.
“Are you serious?” asked one attendee named Mike. “Donald Trump is the best president that this country has ever had . . . and that goes back to Ronald Reagan. [Reagan] was a great president, and he ain’t as good as Donald Trump.”
“Who else would we support?” an attendee, identified as “C.J.,” told Fox News. “Our immigration problem, our economy? Trump. We’ve got to. We’ve got to bring America back. It’s terrible what Biden has done to our country. It’s horrible. We’ve got to get it back.”
Even several undecided voters acknowledged that the charges hadn’t hurt the former president with his political base.
Alabama state Sen. Lance Bell, who has not yet endorsed a 2024 Republican candidate, told Fox News that the charges are actually going to help Trump politically.
“I think the charges are helping him because people are seeing the political prosecution,” Bell said. “So I think the charges are helping him pick up support. It’s sad when we’re having that in our country — when we’re having political prosecutions.”
WATCH:
Over the weekend it was revealed that Trump has extended his lead in a major early primary state as the rest of the 2024 GOP field struggles to make any headway at all.
In 2016, Trump won the state of South Carolina by 10 points, but he looks to blow past that margin this time around, Fox Business reported.
In a recent poll conducted by the outlet, Trump held a commanding 34-point lead in the Palmetto State. Also, more than half of the respondents expressed the belief that he would be the strongest candidate to defeat President Joe Biden.
Fox Business noted further:
The new poll, released Sunday, finds almost half of South Carolina likely Republican primary voters backing Trump in the 2024 primary contest (48%). That number is slightly larger (51%) among those who say they will definitely vote in the February 24 primary.
Lagging far behind is former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley at 14%, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 13%, and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott at 10%. No other candidate reaches double-digit support.
“Even though it’s still early, Trump is the proverbial 800-pound gorilla in this race,” Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducted the Fox Business poll along with Democrat Chris Anderson, said in describing the results. “The initial challenge is to see who can become the non-Trump candidate, and in South Carolina, that’s currently a three-way race among DeSantis, Haley, and Scott.”
Fox Business added that, among various groups, Trump’s strongest support is seen among those identifying as very conservative (57%), voters under the age of 45 (55%), voters without a college degree (53%), rural voters (52%), and White evangelicals (51%).
When Trump supporters were asked about their second choice, the majority selected DeSantis (33%), followed by Scott (17%) and Haley (15%). DeSantis backers chose Trump as their second choice (38%), followed by Scott (29%) and Haley (19%). Among Haley supporters, Scott emerged as the top second choice (38%).
“Still, Trump leads among both groups (electability vs. shares views) by more than 40 points,” the outlet noted.
Meanwhile, a new survey contains a lot of bad news for the Democratic Party and its standard bearer, President Joe Biden, as the 2024 campaign cycle begins in earnest.
