A new poll has bad news for Democrats as they try to brand Donald Trump a "convicted felon" ahead of his rematch with Joe Biden.
The Associated Press poll is a double whammy for Dems: while Americans are against jailing Trump, a majority do approve of Hunter Biden serving time for felony gun crimes.
Joe Biden has relentlessly attacked Trump as a "convicted felon" since he became the first U.S. president to be found guilty of a crime in May.
But Trump has attacked the case as a political sham, and it appears the country sympathizes with his view.
Less than a majority of Americans - only 4 in 10 - have confidence that Trump was treated fairly by the justice system. Just 46% approve of Trump's conviction, while 3 in 10 disapprove and a quarter are neutral.
Meanwhile, 48% of Americans think Trump deserves jail time and 50% think he should not face incarceration. Less than half, 49%, of independents say he should face jail, and 46% say he should not.
“I don’t think the particular crime deserves time,” said Christopher Smith, a 43-year-old independent in Tennessee. “I see what he did, lying on business records because of an affair, as more of a moral crime."
Worse for Dems, Americans are less divided about Hunter Biden's conviction. Democrats have equated Trump's case with Hunter's to argue that they both received impartial justice, but Americans see important differences between the two cases.
While less than a majority of Americans want Trump to face jail, a clear 60% say Hunter Biden deserves time behind bars for lying about his drug abuse on a gun form. The same percentage approves of his conviction.
In short, many Americans seem to think that "convicted felon" is a more suitable description of Joe Biden's son than Trump.
The poll suggests Joe Biden would face backlash if he pardoned his son, who has raised red flags by getting more involved with his father's embattled presidency. Hunter Biden has firmly supported his father against Democrats who want him to step aside following his debate debacle last month.
Meanwhile, Trump's sentencing in the "hush money" case has been delayed until September. Hunter Biden will go on trial again that month, for tax evasion.
If Democrats think they can salvage Biden's crumbling presidency by simply calling Trump a "convicted felon" repeatedly, they're mistaken.
