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A recent CNBC poll shows that the GOP is no longer made up of in pre- and post-Reagan, but pre- and post-Trump. Recent numbers show that the vast majority of Republicans want the former President to remain politically active in some form.
This poll was conducted days before the impeachment of former President Trump (of which he has been acquitted, making him eligible for a 2024 run). The CNBC Economic Poll shows that 54% of Americans want Trump to “retire from politics altogether.” Within Democrats, that sentiment reached 81% and was 47% among independents. Among Republicans, it was only a small 26%.
In the ranks of the Grand Old Party, a broad 74% want the former President to remain active in some way. Of this 74%, a significant 48% said they were in favor of his remaining at the helm of the Party’s leadership. A tiny 11% favor the idea of Trump forming a third party and 12% say he should remain active in American politics, but not as head of the party.
Trump and other GOP numbers
These revealing figures show marked support for the former President and his “America First” agenda.
But other Republican leaders have also recently been placed under the statistical microscope.
A recent poll taken in early February reveals that 53% of Kentuckians do not approve of the job done by Republican Senator Mitch McConnell.
Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy revealed that the figure is based on McConnell’s performance as one of two Kentucky’s Senators. The figure favorable to the senator is 41%. Six percent were unsure. The poll was conducted after Senator McConnell was re-elected to the Senate. Among Kentucky Republicans, 62% approved of the minority leader, while 29% disapproved.
Rand Paul, meanwhile, has a higher approval rating in the poll than McConnell. The poll found that 53% of Kentuckians approve of Paul, compared to 44% who disapprove.
Among Republicans, Senator Paul is quite popular. Paul has an 82% approval rating among Republicans polled, 20% higher than McConnell’s approval rating.
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“If we’re talking about Donald Trump’s future, at this point, the poll shows that he still has this strong core support within his own party that really wants him to continue to be their leader,” were the remarks made by Jay Campbell, a partner at Hart Research, and the Democratic pollster of the survey.
On the story, CNBC reports that Republican pollster Micah Roberts, a partner at Public Opinion Strategies, emphasized the shift since Trump was President. “Polls before the election regularly showed Trump with Republican approval ratings of around 90%, meaning at least some Republicans have defected from Trump,” Roberts pointed out.
On the formation of a “third party,” Republican National Committee officials such as Ronna McDaniel said the former President does not plan to form a new party.
“I talked to the President [Trump],” McDaniel commented to Fox News in January. “I’ve talked to other people around the President, who talk to him every day. He’s not going to create a third [party].”
The online poll of 1,000 Americans nationwide has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5%. It was conducted Feb. 2-7th, before Trump’s Senate trial. Now that he has been acquitted, the numbers may change, as the former President overcame the attempted conviction by Democrats and certain Republicans with relative ease in a short period of time.
Rafael Valera, Venezuelan, student of Political Science, political exile in São Paulo, Brazil since 2017 // Rafael Valera, venezolano, es estudiante de Ciencias Políticas y exiliado político en São Paulo, Brasil desde 2017