Pollster Scott Rasmussen expects little change in Trump's standing after trial verdict

Former President Donald Trump's standing in the polls against President Joe Biden is unlikely to change substantially in the wake of his New York hush money trial verdict, pollster Scott Rasmussen suggested Friday.

Trump was convicted Thursday as part of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's prosecution in connection with a 2016 payment his then-attorney, Michael Cohen, made to Stormy Daniels. He has vowed to appeal the verdict.

Speaking on the "Just the News, No Noise" television show, Rasmussen opined that Trump would like not suffer significantly from the verdict.

"Well, we have to be really careful on this. We've never had a situation like this in the country before. So we might be surprised," he said. "But all the indications are, it's not likely to have a big impact. Can't say there won't be any and in a race that might be decided by 10,000 or 20,000 voters in key swing states, anything can can happen."

"But realistically, I would expect the numbers, the presidential horse race numbers to be pretty much the same over the next few weeks," he continued. Rasmussen went on to highlight the divided public perception of the trial itself as a key factor in predicting its impact on voters.

"President Trump as the Republican presidential nominee is going to have a huge megaphone. And he starts with a couple of benefits. Number one, people didn't think he was a saint beforehand. I mean, they didn't think that before they voted for him in 2016, or 2020," he continued. "And in fact, just over half of voters think he's less ethical than most politicians. So not a big shock here."

"Another thing that we're seeing is that only about half of voters believe this is a legitimate trial," Rasmussen added. "The other half think it's politically motivated. So at the end of the day, might it have an impact? The question is going to be the people we call irregular voters... they're the ones who will be looking to see if there's a real change."

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.