Trump’s lead over DeSantis shrinks 10 points since late March: poll 

Former President Donald Trump’s post-indictment boost in the polls appears to be quickly fading, according to a new survey. 

A Yahoo News/YouGov poll released Tuesday found that Trump’s advantage over Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has dropped by 10 points in the last two weeks. 

The survey of 1,530 US adults, conducted from April 14 to 17, found 52% favoring Trump compared to 36% who said they supported DeSantis in a one-on-one matchup. 

When the same poll surveyed voters 24 hours after the former president was hit with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to an alleged “hush money” payment scheme, Trump recorded his biggest lead over DeSantis to date – 57% to 31%. 

The poll released Tuesday also found that Trump slipped back under 50% support when respondents were given a full field of 2024 Republican presidential options, falling to 49% support, 3 percentage points less than last Yahoo News/YouGov poll.

Less than half of GOP voters, 49%, said they would prefer Trump to “someone else” as the party’s 2024 nominee, marking the first time since February that the former president hasn’t cracked 50% on that question.

February was also the last time that Yahoo News/YouGov found DeSantis polling ahead of Trump, 45% to 41%. 

Trump’s drop in the polls as his March 30 indictment by Manhattan grand jury gets further away in the rearview mirror signals that public opinion is trending away from the 45th president despite the initial outrage at Trump becoming the first former president in history to ever face criminal charges. 

The survey found that the number of Americans who approve of Trump “being indicted for falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment to a porn star” has jumped 5 points in the last two weeks, from 42% to 47% on Tuesday. 

Among Republicans, 19% said they approve of the indictment compared to 12% two weeks ago. 

Disapproval over his indictment has slightly fallen, down from 39% to 37%, among all voters. 

A higher percentage of people also indicated that they think Trump did what he’s been accused of in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s charging documents, 48% compared to 45% immediately after the indictment dropped.

A majority of registered voters, 51%, also said that they now believe Trump committed a crime.