U.S. President Donald Trump looks forward to presenting the presidential medal of freedom to Celtics basketball legend Bob Cousy at the White House Oval Office in Washington, DC on August 22, 2019.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
A CNBC poll conducted in the days leading up to the trial of former President Donald Trump found that a large portion of Republicans want him to remain the leader of his party, but most Americans want him out of politics.
CNBC’s All-America Economic Survey shows that 54% of Americans want Trump to be “completely removed from politics.” That was the sentiment of 81% of Democrats and 47% of Independents, but only 26% of Republicans.
When it comes to Republicans, 74% want him to stay active in some way, including 48% who want him to continue at the head of the Republican party, 11% who want a third party to start, and 12% who want to say that he should remain active in politics but not as the head of any party.
“If we talk about Donald Trump’s future right now, the poll shows that he still has that strong basic support within his own party that he really wants him to continue to be his leader,” said Jay Campbell, a partner at Hart Research and the Democratic poll for the poll.
But Micah Roberts, the Republican poll pollster and partner at Public Opinion Strategies, emphasized the change from when Trump was president. Pre-election polls regularly showed Trump with Republican Party approval ratings around 90%, meaning at least some Republicans have left Trump.
The online survey of 1,000 Americans nationwide has a margin of error of about 3.5%. It was held Feb. 2-7, ahead of Trump’s trial in the Senate for insurgency and inciting January 6 riots at the Capitol. In the unlikely event of a conviction, the Senate could prevent Trump from returning to federal public office.
The poll shows that Trump maintains strong support among Americans without a college degree, a key demographic factor for the Republican Party: 89% of the group wants him to stay in politics, including 52% he wants him to stay in the head of the Republican party. This is the highest percentage of any group and a potential warning sign for Republican Party leaders in case they choose to vote to condemn Trump.