As a date has been set for the trial of former President Donald Trump over the classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago, a new poll shows that most Americans want to watch the trial on their TVs.
A new Quinnipiac University poll asked a number of questions about the upcoming trial, which is set for August 14, including whether or not they thought cameras should be allowed in the courtroom. Overall, 64%, nearly two-thirds, say cameras should be there, while 29% say they shouldn’t. An additional 7% said they had no opinion or didn’t know.
While more Democrats—71%—than Republicans—57%—wanted cameras, there was no demographic where a majority didn’t want them. Black people were the highest demographic who wanted the Trump documents trial televised at 77%, followed by people between the ages of 18-34 at 71%, tied with Democrats, and Hispanic people at a rate of 70%. The poll also showed that only 32% of Americans have read the indictment.
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Though 60% of Americans think Trump acted inappropriately in handling the classified documents, and 65% call the charges either “very serious” (at 45%) or “somewhat serious” (at 20%), 62% call the Department of Justice “politically motivated” in pursuing the case.
The poll had a sample size of 1,776 American adults with a margin of error of 2.3%.
Federal trials, like the Trump documents trial, are not televised. At the state level, many states allow cameras in courtrooms, but it’s on a state-by-state basis. And, of course, Trump’s impeachment trials were televised, as is nearly all House and Senate business.
There have been calls from the right and the left to televise the trial. Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz wrote an op-ed for The Hill in favor of cameras in Trump’s courtroom. Dershowitz says that this is partly due to his belief that “all trials, except perhaps those involving minors and other select exceptions, should be televised.” He warns that if the trial isn’t televised, questions of bias will come into play.
“It will be as if there were two trials: one observed by reporters for MSNBC, CNN, the New York Times and other liberal media, the other through the prism of reporters for Fox, Newsmax and other conservative outlets. There will be nowhere to go to learn the objective reality of what occurred at trial,” Dershowitz writes.
MSNBC anchor and commentator Ayman Mohyeldin made a similar case on his weekend show Ayman.
“If Judge Aileen Cannon, the Trump appointee set to oversee the rest of trial, continues to follow standard procedure, the only accounts the public will hear, see and read will be secondhand accounts from reporters, witnesses and participants. That includes a defendant who has repeatedly demonstrated an inability to tell the truth,” Mohyeldin said. “Now, as a member of the news media myself, I have confidence that those allowed inside the courtroom will try their very best to accurately document the proceedings. But the truth is simple: That is not enough, given the severity and gravity of this moment.”