According to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist National Poll, an overwhelming majority of Republicans want former President Donald Trump to take the reins of government once more.
According to the study, Trump has a sizable following within the Republican base; 71 percent of respondents indicated they want the former president to return to the White House.
Trump did not receive much support from Democrats, as expected; only 7% of Democrats and 29% of independents stated they wanted to see Trump re-elected.
64 percent of registered voters do not want to see Trump re-elected as president, compared to 34 percent who do.
“More than one-fourth of Americans (27%) say they want Trump to be president again even if he is found guilty of a crime,” according to the poll, “which was heavily influenced by Republicans (63%).”
In addition, 77% of Republicans believe Trump should continue to run for president despite the accusations made against him by the New York grand jury.
The poll included 1,291 participants and was conducted April 17–19, 2023. Its margin of error is +/– 3.4%.
Republicans have overwhelmingly backed Trump in recent polls, which is not surprising given his overwhelming advantage in the 2024 Republican primary field. According to the most recent weekly Morning Consult poll, which was released on Tuesday, Trump has a growing advantage over possible rivals.
His support increased by five percentage points over the previous week, from 53 percent to 58 percent, according to this week’s Morning Consult poll. The candidate that routinely comes in second, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, saw a decline in support from 24% to 21%. In other words, Trump’s current advantage in the Morning Consult poll is his largest one to date at 37 points.
Asa Hutchinson, a former governor of Arkansas who will formally declare his candidacy for president on Wednesday, is behind Trump in this poll by 57 points and only has 1% of the vote.
In an appearance with This Week earlier this month, Hutchinson said that Trump should withdraw from the run for president because of his indictment.
He stated:
“I do. The office is first and foremost more significant than any one person. I do believe that’s too much of a side show and distraction for the purpose of the president, and he has to be allowed to focus on his due process since there is a presumption of innocence. The second reason is that, over the course of my eight years as governor and as a political figure, I’ve consistently argued that, if an investigation leads to criminal charges that must be addressed, the office will always take precedence over the individual.”
Trump boasted about his position in a potential rematch with President Biden earlier on Wednesday morning.
“In practically all polls, I am ahead of Biden.” He exclaimed “The Fake News hates to hear this.”
Less than 25% of Democrats indicated excitement for Biden’s reelection candidacy in a recent CBS News/YouGov survey.
