Former President Donald Trump claimed on Thursday that the search warrant executed on his Mar-a-Lago estate last month has helped his polling numbers, a statement that is demonstrably false.
In the immediate aftermath of the FBI search to retrieve documents that Trump improperly removed from the White House, the former president’s numbers did improve among Republican respondents in some polls. But among the electorate overall, Trump’s numbers have not improved as a result of the investigation.
Still, Trump claimed in a radio interview on Thursday that he has been faring better in the polls since the search warrant was executed.
“I don’t even like saying it because frankly it sounds so trivial…my poll numbers have gone through the roof because of” the search, he said. “I’ve never been involved in an event that’s driven me up like this.”
Trump this morning on the search: “My poll numbers have gone through the roof because of it. I’ve never been involved in an event that’s driven me up like this.” pic.twitter.com/mSUAPhlgMg
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) September 1, 2022
According to an Economist/YouGov poll, however, 41 percent of Americans had a favorable view of Trump in July, while 54 percent said they viewed him unfavorably. In polling that was conducted from August 28-30, after the Mar-a-Lago search, those numbers were almost exactly the same, with 41 percent saying they had a favorable view of the former president and 53 percent saying they had an unfavorable view.
Other polling suggests that Trump’s favorability ratings have actually been dropping in the weeks since the search, as more information emerges about the documents that were retrieved by officials. According to an aggregate of polling on Trump’s favorability ratings collected by RealClearPolitics, Trump averaged a -11.9 favorability rating on August 6, two days before the Mar-a-Lago search. On September 1, that rating stood at -13 points.
Polls also show that a clear majority of Americans believe the search on Trump’s property was warranted. In a Wall Street Journal poll conducted from August 17-25, 52 percent of respondents agreed with a statement that the search was a “proper investigation to determine if former President Trump was involved in any wrongdoing,” while just 41 percent said it was part of an “endless witch hunt” to harass Trump.
Other data also contradicts Trump’s assertions. An NBC News poll showed that 57 percent of Americans believe that the various investigations into Trump should continue. And a recent Quinnipiac University poll shows that 50 percent of the country believes that Trump should be prosecuted for his actions, while just 41 percent oppose the idea.
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