Slim majority back convicting Donald Trump at his impeachment trial

A slim majority of Americans back the Senate convicting former President Donald Trump at his impeachment trial for inciting an insurrection, new polling found.  

A CBS News/YouGov survey that was released Tuesday found that 56 per cent of Americans believe Trump should be convicted, with the same percentage saying the ex-president encouraged violence at the Capitol. 

Polling on the matter falls in line with party preference, with just 8 per cent of Trump’s 2020 voters believing he should be convicted, as well as 17 per cent of survey respondents who said they were Republicans. 

A majority of Americans believe President Donald Trump should be convicted by the Senate and believe he was responsible for the violence at the Capitol Building, but the number of Democrats is much bigger than the number of Republicans and Trump supporters 

New polling found a slim majority of Americans believe Trump should be convicted by the Senate in his second impeachment trial, but Republicans are still very supportive of the ex-president 

Breaking down the question of whether Trump encouraged violence at the Capitol, while 56 per cent believe he did, just 21 per cent of self-described Republicans say so, compared to 88 per cent of Democrats 

While just 15 per cent of respondents said they were interested in a new Trump political party, that number more than doubles among Republicans, with 33 per cent expressing yes and another 37 per cent who said maybe 

On the question of whether Trump encouraged violence, while 56 per cent said so overall, just 21 per cent of Republicans agreed. 

Among Democrats that number was 88 per cent, with 54 per cent of independents believing so too.  

Ninety-two per cent of Trump voters and 84 per cent of Republicans viewed the impeachment trial, which kicks off Tuesday, as a ‘distraction.’ 

And 81 per cent of Trump voters, as well as 71 per cent of Republicans viewed GOP lawmakers who voted in favor of Trump’s impeachment as ‘disloyal.’  

In general, there wasn’t much appetite for Trump for start his own party – with just 15 per cent of respondents saying yes.  

However, among Trump’s 2020 voters, 37 per cent said yes, they would join a new Trump party, while 37 per cent said maybe. Among Republicans, 33 per cent said yes and 37 per cent said maybe.  

Trump’s lies about election fraud have seeped in to his voters’ beliefs, as just 26 per cent of Trump’s 2020 voters said they believed President Joe Biden was the legitimate winner of the race. Among Republicans the total was 34 per cent. 

Republicans were more prone to think of Democrats as ‘enemies’ than the other way around 

Democrats were more likely to see Republicans as ‘political opposition’ 

Among Biden voters that number stood at 99 per cent.  

Republicans were more likely to view Democrats as ‘enemies’ – parroting language Trump often used – than the other way around. 

Pollsters found that 57 per cent of Republicans viewed Democrats as ‘enemies,’ while 43 per cent saw them as opposition. 

The survey than found that 59 per cent of Democrats viewed Republicans as political opposition, while 41 per cent said they were enemies. 

Members of both parties, however, said they found violence unacceptable. 

Overall, 91 per cent of all respondents agreed. 

That included 94 per cent of Biden voters, 91 per cent of Trump voters, 93 per cent of Democrats and 89 per cent of Republicans, the poll found.  

The CBS News survey was conducted by YouGov between February 5 and 8 with 2,508 Americans interviewed. 

It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.3 per cent.