The vast majority of Republicans want former President Donald Trump to be commander-in-chief again, a recent NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist National Poll found.
The survey found Trump with strong support among the Republican base, as 71 percent said they want the former president back in the White House.
Predictably, Trump does not see much support from Democrats, as just seven percent said they want to see Trump as president again, with 29 percent of independents feeling the same way.
Across the board, 34 percent of registered voters want to see Trump as president again, while 64 percent do not.
“Driven by Republicans (63%), more than one in four Americans (27%) say they want Trump to be president, again, even if he is found guilty of a crime,” the survey found:
Further, 77 percent of Republicans think Trump should remain in the race, regardless of the charges brought to him by the New York grand jury.
The survey was taken April 17-19, 2023, among 1,291 respondents and has a +/- 3.4 percent margin of error.
The strong support from Republicans comes as no surprise, as recent surveys continue to display Trump’s sheer dominance in the 2024 Republican primary field. The latest weekly Morning Consult survey, released on Tuesday, showed Trump boasting his largest lead over his potential challengers yet as his support climbs.
This week’s Morning Consult survey found his support climbing five percentage points over the last week, jumping from 53 percent to 58 percent. Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the individual who consistently places a distant second, dipped from 24 percent support to 21 percent. In other words, Trump now has a 37-point lead — his greatest lead in the Morning Consult survey to date.
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who is formally announcing his presidential bid Wednesday, comes 57 points behind Trump in this survey with one percent support.
Earlier this month, Hutchinson sat down for an interview on This Week and said Trump should drop out of the presidential race due to his indictment.
He said:
I do. First of all, the office is more important than any individual person. For the sake of the office of the presidency, I do think that’s too much of a side show and distraction, and he needs to be able to concentrate on his due process and there is a presumption of innocence. The second reason is throughout my eight years as governor, and as a political leader, I’ve always said that the people don’t have to step aside from public office if they’re under investigation but if it reaches the point of criminal charges that have to be answered, the office is always more important than a person.
Earlier Wednesday morning, Trump touted his standing in a hypothetical rematch with President Biden.
“I am leading Biden in almost all of the Polls. The Fake News hates to hear this!” he exclaimed:
A recent CBS News/YouGov poll found less than a quarter of Democrats expressing excitement for Biden’s reelection bid.