New survey: Trump has the support of the majority of Republicans, but not the majority of citizens

Some Republicans argue that Trump's approval rating among the general electorate has only gotten worse since the last election, culminating on January 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed Congress

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Trump, Photo: Reuters
Trump, Photo: Reuters
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

After each indictment, Donald Trump boasted that his approval rating among Republicans was only increasing - and he was right, the Voice of America reports.

Nearly two-thirds of Republicans, 63 percent, say they want Trump to run again, according to a new survey by the Associated Press and the NORC Public Opinion Research Center.

And that's an increase compared to 55 percent in April, when the indictments against the former president began. Seven in ten Republicans now have a favorable opinion of Trump, up from 60 percent last month.

But there was also a warning sign for the former president - when it comes to presidential elections, the majority of Americans are against him.

About 74 percent of Republicans would vote for him if he were the presidential nominee in November 2024. But 53 percent of Americans said they definitely would not vote for him if he were the nominee, and 11 percent said they probably wouldn't vote for him.

These findings confirm what some of Trump's rivals claim - that he can't win the election if he counts on votes outside the Republican base. In 2016, Trump received a smaller number of votes, but won thanks to a sufficient number of Electoral College votes. In the last election in 2020, he received seven million votes less than Biden.

Some Republicans argue that Trump's approval rating among the general electorate has only gotten worse since the last election, culminating on January 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed Congress.

"There are a significant number of people who voted for Trump twice and won't do it again after all," said Sarah Longwell, an anti-Trump Republican strategist.

A spokesman for the Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment on the findings of the investigation, which was conducted from August 10 to 14 - before the fourth indictment was filed in Georgia.

The former president now faces a total of 91 counts in New York, Washington, Georgia and Florida.

The survey showed that voter opposition to the re-election of the 80-year-old Biden is not so deep-rooted.

Although voters express doubts especially about his age, 43 percent of them say they definitely would not vote for him, and 11 percent say they probably wouldn't - less than Trump.

The indictments in Washington and Georgia again put Trump's focus back on the alleged election fraud, which his associates wanted to avoid and focus on pre-election events.

However, both federal and state election officials, as well as Trump's attorney general and judges, said there was no credible evidence that the election was rigged.

Trump's claims are going down well with Republican voters, but not with undecideds — whom he needs to win over if he wants to win in 2024.

"Trump needs to address voters' grievances, not his own. And every time he talks about the 2020 election, he goes back, and voters need to look forward," Longwell said.

Rich Stricklet, a Trump supporter from Iowa, considers the new indictments a "witch hunt."

"I think they are politically motivated to remove a candidate who is a threat to the current president. And they want people like me not to go out and vote because all this is happening to him," he says, but adds that he still worries whether Trump will get enough votes to win in 2024

Mary Kinney, Republican of Iowa, also criticized the indictments.

"They're hitting him with whatever they can get their hands on because they're afraid of him," Kini says.

She will, however, vote for Senator Tim Scott, Trump's opponent, in the upcoming caucuses because she believes it is time for a new generation of candidates.

Some are skeptical that the lawsuits will hurt Trump politically.

His former Republican rival in 2016, Scott Walker, says that Trump was able to turn the narrative so that "everyone is against him because he dared to touch the heart of the establishment, to drain the swamp."

Walker thinks there are many undecided voters who have been repeatedly let down and now want "someone fearless."

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich predicts the allegations will "enrage" the people and help Trump in the 2024 general election.

"I think this will enrage every American who cares about the rule of law. They will be stronger and they will win the election."

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