(DCNF)—Wisconsin voters told CNN chief national affairs correspondent Jeff Zeleny in a segment aired Wednesday that the conviction of former President Donald Trump will not influence who they cast ballots for in the presidential election.
Trump is beating President Joe Biden by 13% among likely Nevada voters, 9% in Georgia, 6% in Arizona, 3% in Pennsylvania and 1% in Wisconsin, according to New York Times/Siena College polling published in May. Two Wisconsin voters told Zeleny on “CNN News Central” that they still plan to vote for Trump, and one said he does not believe the path to a Biden victory is focusing on the former president’s conviction, asserting policy should be more of a priority.
“No, no it won’t, unless he’s brought to jail, I guess,” Caroline Quinlan, an independent voter named who plans to vote for Trump, told Zeleny when asked whether the conviction will impact her choice for president. “But if he’s on the ticket, he’s on the ticket.”
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“I think at the end of the day that that conviction last week helps President Trump,” a Trump supporter named Tony Duckert told Zeleny, clarifying that there are other important issues that will impact the election, as well. “I think it’s the economy, which would include inflation, I think it’s the border situation, I think it’s the crime situation. All of the things that have historically a president is judged by in an election year.”
“I won’t be intimidated in my support for President Trump,” he said.
Zeleny, during the trial in May, said swing-state voters told him they were “disgusted” and “tired” of Trump’s trial and that many weren’t following its developments, adding that these Americans care more about inflation. He also said at the time that the trial seemed to be benefiting the former president.
“I would probably say you should really get more emphasis on policy than you should on trashing the opponent,” a Biden supporter named Tim Eichinger told Zeleny in the Wednesday segment. “But there are other people that would disagree with that.”
“I worry he could lose,” he said. “You still have to think about what would happen if we have another term of Donald Trump. ‘Cause it’s going to be worse this time,” he said.
A panel of seven North Carolina and Georgia registered voters told 2WAY’s Mark Halperin after the Trump guilty verdict that they were unclear on the crime the former president committed and that the timing of the prosecution was political.
“I just feel like, not even just this case but in all the cases against him, it seems like it’s been four years,” a Georgia voter named Gerrylin said. “Why has nothing really come of any of the cases, and now that he’s on the campaign trail, it’s like now everything is ramping up? But what was going on the last three and a half years, where now everything is just surfacing and he’s just now going to trial?”