A new Marist College survey finds 52 percent of respondents think disgraced former President Trump should drop out of the 2024 race after being indicted five times for a total of 91 felony counts in four different jurisdictions while 46 percent say nah that’s cool he should still run.

The same number also said they would vote for Trump if the election were held today, while Biden scored only 1 percent more for a 47 to 46 dead heat with the Orange Warlord. A Quinnipiac survey published Wednesday found the exact same split so it’s unlikely to be a fluke. The QU poll also found 68 percent saying “No” to “If a person is convicted of a felony, do you think they should still be eligible to be president of the United States, or not?” which is a hell of an overlap between “Yes Trump” and “No convicted felon.” There’s a pretty solid chance Trump will have already been found guilty by at least one jury by November 2024 and even if most of that 22 percent-ish crosstab is full of shit and will vote Trump anyway, the delta is simply too wide for a “Silent Majority” to plug.

All that said, the real dream scenario is for Trump to lock down the nomination and then get locked up, tossed in home confinement, stuck with a total gag order or whatever in late July 2024, and refuse to step down because winning the election is his only way of getting out of having to go to prison. Like how awesome would that be if we could cover Trump rallies where Marjorie Taylor Greene and Jim Jordan have to fill the whole time telling the crowd how badly Donald wishes he could be there and that he’s innocent so they should vote for him? We’d have a blast with that campaign. The best part is that “dream” isn’t really all that unrealistic. Trump really actually could be the nominee and prevented from campaigning after pissing off a judge one too many times while he’s out on appeal and/or awaiting sentencing on the federal election coup or Stormy payoff cases.