(The Center Square) – If former President Donald Trump were to be convicted of any of the four felony indictments he faces ahead of the 2024 election, he would lose to incumbent President Joe Biden, according to the result of a new poll.
Biden, 80, would win 45% to 39% against Trump, 77, if the former president gets convicted before next November’s election, according to a WPA Intelligence survey shared with The New York Post.
The poll shows Biden would get more independent votes if Trump is convicted.
In August, another poll showed that 48% of Republicans in Iowa said Trump should continue to campaign if sentenced to prison while 39% said he should drop out.
Trump faces nearly 100 felony charges in four separate felony cases, two of which were filed by special counsel Jack Smith in federal court.
As The Center Square previously reported, while the four trials could complicate his campaign, not even convictions would disqualify Trump from the office he seeks.
Richard Hasen, professor of law and political science at the University of California, Los Angeles, previously told The Center Square that the U.S. Constitution does not prohibit felons from serving as president.
Hasen noted that some seek to disqualify Trump from running or serving arguing he is ineligible under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. That section disqualifies any sworn officeholder who has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against” the United States. “But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability,” according to the U.S. Constitution.
If Trump wins the 2024 election and attempts to pardon himself, it would likely be challenged in the courts. Trump could not pardon himself from any state charges, Hasen said.
Federal acquittals are rare. In fiscal year 2022, 290 of 71,954 defendants in federal criminal cases, about 0.4%, went to trial and were acquitted, according to a Pew Research Center analysis.
