Most don’t think Trump should get presidential immunity — CBS News poll

As a federal court is set to hear whether Donald Trump should have legal immunity for his conduct in the period after the 2020 election through Jan. 6, most Americans don’t think he should be immune from prosecution for actions he took while president. And a narrower majority say the indictments and investigations of the former president are upholding the rule of law.

CBS News’ latest poll asked Americans whether they think that “Donald Trump should have immunity from criminal prosecution for actions he took while he was president.” Over six in 10 disagree with this argument, including solid majorities of Democrats and independents.

By contrast, in the context of the Jan. 6 investigation and charges, most Republicans feel Trump should be immune from criminal prosecution. That includes majorities of both MAGA identifiers and non-MAGA Republicans.

Moreover, most Republicans continue to say indictments and investigations of Trump are “an attack” on people like them, with the vast majority calling them an “unfair” attempt to stop his 2024 campaign. Most Democrats and independents say the indictments are upholding the rule of law.

This CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,157 U.S. adult residents interviewed between January 3-5, 2024. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, and education based on the U.S. Census American Community Survey and Current Population Survey, as well as past vote. The margin of error is ±2.8 points.

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Kabir Khanna

Kabir Khanna is Deputy Director, Elections & Data Analytics at CBS News. He conducts surveys, develops statistical models, and projects races at the network Decision Desk. His scholarly research centers on political behavior and methodology. He holds a PhD in political science from Princeton University.