Trump says he'll still run from jail but voters are getting sick of his antics

There is no provision in American law that can prevent a presidential candidate from running for office from behind bars, and it seems like Donald Trump isn’t going to let a pesky little thing like a jail cell stop him from running for the presidency in 2024. 

In an extensive interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Trump defiantly announced that there was nothing that could make him step down from the 2024 presidential election, even if he was convicted on one of the many charges he now faces. 

“Is there anything they could throw at you legally, that would convince you to drop out [of] the race? If you get convicted in this case in New York, would you drop out?” Carlson asked in his April 11th interview with the former president. 

“No, I’d never drop — it’s not my thing. I wouldn’t do it,” Trump responded, despite the fact that the former president is facing 34 felony counts in New York.

This wasn’t the first time Trump has said he wasn’t planning on dropping out of the presidential race if one of the many investigations into his conduct ended up sticking to the Teflon Don. 

In March, the former president told a group of reporters before his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that he would “absolutely” still run if he was convicted. 

“I wouldn’t even think about leaving,” Trump said during his pre-speech press conference, adding that an indictment would probably “enhance my numbers” before calling his many investigations “a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time.”

Unfortunately for the former president, his prediction about his indictments enhancing his numbers turned out to be wholly incorrect with the segment of the political population he needs the most—independent voters. 

A recent CNN poll conducted after news broke that the former president was being charged in connection to his alleged hush money payments to Stormy Daniels, found that 62% of independents approved of the indictment. 

“Even among those who disapprove of the indictment, the perception that Trump’s actions were questionable is fairly widespread, with about half in that group saying Trump did something wrong regarding payments,” CNN’s Jennifer Agiesta wrote. 

On April 9th, The Wall Street Journal’s John McCormick reported on the growing discontent among Republican voters who believe the time has come to move on from Trump and pick a new candidate who doesn’t carry with them the same baggage. 

"I appreciate what he did and was pleasantly surprised by how conservative he was and how he kept his promises," Randy Marquardt explained to McCormick. "But there is just something about him that ignites the other side. It can't be overcome."

Marquardt is the Chairman of Wisconsin’s Washington County and he wasn’t the only Republican voter McCormick spoke with that thought it was time to move on from Trump. 

"The party should avoid Trump and find a younger and fresher candidate," 78-year-old Dallas lawyer David Sherwood said. "I don't think Trump can win because he has too much baggage. He has good policies, but an abrasive personality."

Other Republicans told McCormick that they were looking for someone closer to the middle of the political spectrum while a few spoke about his inappropriate behavior and how they wanted a conservative candidate they could vote for rather than against. 

Whether or not Trump will actually simultaneously serve time for his alleged crimes and run for office has yet to be seen, but it is clear his antics and indictments aren’t winning over the supporters he’ll need to win the 2024 election. 

While there’s always time to turn things around in politics, especially for a character like Trump, it's likely he will lose a lot more popularity with the nation’s most important voters as he faces down charges far more serious than hush money payments.