FBI raid gave Trump a 10-point boost over DeSantis, poll shows

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The FBI raid on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate gave the former president a 10-point boost over likely 2024 rival Ron DeSantis among GOP primary voters, according to a new poll.

Dozens of agents descended on Mr Trump’s Florida home to execute a search warrant signed by a federal judge to look for top secret documents.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said he personally approved the raid, while Mr Trump criticised it and insisted he had done nothing wrong.

The FBI removed 11 sets of documents that were marked as classified. Some were marked “classified/TS/SCI” meaning “top secret/sensitive compartmented information”. Such information is only supposed to be viewed in a secure government facility, known as a SCIF – Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility.

A new Politico/Morning Consult poll conducted following the FBI raid showed it had given Mr Trump a bump with Republican primary voters.

Last month, 53 per cent of Republican voters and Republican-leaning independents said they would vote for Mr Trump in the 2024 primary if it was held that day.

Following the raid, it found that number for Mr Trump had climbed to 57 per cent, while support for Mr DeSantis had dropped from 23 per cent down to 17 per cent.

No other Republican candidate had double-digit support.

Mr Trump has not yet officially confirmed he will run again for the White House in two years but is widely expected to do so.

The poll also showed that the FBI raid had significantly higher approval than disapproval among Americans.

Respondents to the poll were asked, “Do you approve or disapprove of the FBI’s decision to conduct a search warrant on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida?”

The results showed that 49 per cent approved, while only 37 disapproved, and another 13 percent replied “Don’t know/no opinion”.