'Painful and salacious': GOP lawmakers worry trial is 'troubling sign for Trump'

13 May 2024

Last month, several days following the start of Donald Trump's New York hush money trial, MSNBC's Steve Bennen noted that Quinnipiac University's latest national poll showed that while the ex-president "insists he did absolutely nothing wrong in this criminal case, only about a fifth of the public believes him."

While PBS News reports that Republicans are "the least likely demographic to say that he has done something illegal," several GOP lawmakers are worried that Trump's first criminal trial may have a negative impact on Republican voters, according to a Monday, May 13 report published by The Hill.

"Some Republican lawmakers think Trump needs to step up his appeals to disaffected GOP voters," the Hill reports.

Amid testimony from adult film star Stormy Daniels, former GOP candidate Nikki Haley won 21 percent of the Indiana primary vote last week, despite dropping out of the race.

"It says a lot about the need for an engagement strategy," Sen.Thom Tillis (R-NC) said.

While US Senator James Lankford (R-OK) told the news outlet he’s unsure how Daniels’ testimony will impact voters in November, he also “acknowledged ‘it’s painful and salacious.’”

The Hill reports, "A troubling sign for Trump is that Republicans who show up to vote in primaries tend to be consistent voters, and as such are a key piece of the GOP base. While they are unlikely to vote for Biden, many of them may simply stay home in November."

The North Carolina lawmaker said his GOP colleagues "would be 'crazy' to discount the problem and fail to consider ways to address it."

The Hill's full report is available here.

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