Trump's indictment hasn't helped him and 'problems are only going to get worse': analysis

Former President Donald Trump and his allies thought there would be one silver lining to the former president being indicted in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case: it would goose his poll numbers, as Republicans and some independents rallied around him out of outrage at his supposed persecution.

But it hasn't been working out the way they were hoping, wrote The New Republic's Alex Shepard on Friday.

Shepard acknowledges that the indictment has strengthened Trump's grip on the Republican Party primary electorate but he notes that polls are showing red flags that he is eroding with other key voting blocs, including some that are vital to winning in 2024.

"But there are growing signs that being indicted for endangering America’s national security is damaging Trump politically, even if it isn’t harming his chances of securing the 2024 Republican presidential nomination," said the report. "An ABC News/Ipsos poll released earlier this week found that 61 percent of voters believed the indictment was 'serious,' as opposed to just 28 percent who viewed it as 'not serious.' The number of voters who believed that he should be charged was somewhat lower: Just 48 percent, compared to 35 percent who believe the Department of Justice should have refrained from charging the former president."

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In fact, even many Republicans have their doubts about Trump now: the poll shows 38 percent of Republicans view the indictment as serious — and that the numbers are growing for both Republicans and independents.

"These are both very bad signs for Donald Trump," said the report. "The indictment, moreover, may get worse for him, not better. Democrats have largely stayed silent about it and have not aggressively pressed the case that Trump wantonly and recklessly endangered America’s national security but that may be changing — a growing number of advisers and aides are frustrated by Biden’s kid gloves approach to the indictment and it’s likely that the party will take a more aggressive tack in the coming days and weeks. And the indictment isn’t going anywhere: The case against Trump will proceed slowly over months and may stretch well into the 2024 election. Trump’s problems are only going to get worse, in other words."