EXCLUSIVE: Trump leads DeSantis by 42 POINTS in new national poll showing MORE Republicans likely to vote for him after third indictment — and 75% think charges are a ‘distraction’ to Biden’s ‘corruption’

Former President Donald Trump has increased his lead over Ron DeSantis by nine points in national primary polls, giving him a 42-point lead despite facing a third criminal charge last week.

The numbers, in a poll for his campaign, show him leading the Republican field with 55 percent support, while DeSantis is down to 13 percent, down five points since June.

It is the final blow to the Florida governor on the day he fired his campaign manager and embarked on a new reset.

It also reveals why Trump’s rivals can’t capitalize on the former president’s mounting legal troubles.

The poll found that 52% of Republicans say they are more likely to vote for Trump since his indictment last Tuesday over allegations related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The battle for the Republican nomination was meant to be a race between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis. But a poll for the Trump campaign suggests the former president is well ahead

Coefficient pollsters polled 1,638 likely Republican primary voters nationwide for their views. The results have a margin of error of 2.4 percentage points.

They also showed that 75 percent believe the latest indictments are an attempt by the Justice Department to divert attention from stories of corruption in the Biden family.

“President Trump dominates the Republican primary field as Joe Biden’s Justice Department attacks continue to backfire,” said a delighted Trump campaign official.

“The more voters see a weaponized, two-tiered justice system, the more they rally behind President Trump.”

It comes amid a swirl of questions about how much Biden knew about his son’s foreign business dealings when Hunter Biden is accused of using the former vice president’s name to make money.

The poll also shows Trump has a 36-point head-to-head lead over DeSantis: 57 points to 21, a gap that has widened by seven points since June.

The rest of the field is led by anti-Trump figure Chris Christie at five percent, with biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at four percent and former Vice President Mike Pence, who qualified for the first presidential debate on Tuesday, at three percent.

It shows how Trump continues to dominate the field after entering the race early — shortly after last year’s midterm elections.

His allies have spoken of destroying DeSantis’ hopes before he can even get going in a strategy called a “crib kill.”

The poll was conducted after Trump appeared in court last week. He pleaded not guilty to charges related to his attempts to reverse the results of the 2020 election

So far it seems to be working with DeSantis reshuffling his team on Tuesday, replacing campaign manager Generra Peck with James Uthmeier, his old chief of staff.

Campaign manager Generra Peck moved to lead strategist position in DeSantis shakeup

The poll shows Trump’s favors also outweigh those of DeSantis, a figure who some on the right still hope has a better chance of defeating Joe Biden in next year’s general election.

Nearly half (49 percent) of voters rate Trump “very favorably” compared to 19 percent for DeSantis, who has sometimes cut an awkward figure on the campaign train when interacting with voters.

Trump is in New Hampshire on Tuesday for a speech in the gymnasium of Windham High School, just outside Manchester.

The action will switch to the other earliest state, Iowa, for the state fair later in the week.

Trump will be there over the weekend and all the other candidates will be visiting.