Poll: Majority of Republicans Believe Trump Should Continue to Play "Major" Role in Party

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Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 12:32 pm

According to the latest Politico and Morning Consult poll, the majority of Republicans––59%––believe former President Donald Trump should continue to play a “major” role in the party after the Senate acquitted him on a charge that he had incited an insurrection against Congress.

“Compared with another survey conducted immediately after the Jan. 6 events, the share of GOP voters who said Trump should play a “major role” in the Republican Party has increased 18 percentage points, to 59 percent, continuing an upward trend that started before the Senate trial began,” the poll found. “By comparison, just 17 percent said he should play no role at all, at odds with the expectations of some Republican officials, such as Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), that the trial would spell the end for Trump.”

The number of Republicans who believe Trump bore responsibility for inciting the January 6 storming of the United States Capitol––which resulted in five deaths––has dropped 14 points, to 27%.

Over the same time period, the share of GOP voters who blamed President Joe Biden for the riot increased 4 points (to 46 percent) while the share who blamed congressional Democrats increased 10 points (to 58 percent),” the poll notes.

Additionally, 54% of Republicans signaled they would support Trump if he ran for office again in 2024. Politico and Morning Consult’s poll on January 6-7 showed that just 42% of Republicans said they would support him if he ran again.

The poll’s findings come on the heels of the latest Economist/YouGov poll, which found that 36% of Republicans believe Trump is the best president the United States has ever had.

“The change in GOP rankings since 2018, when the last survey was conducted, is striking. In 2018, Republicans ranked Reagan first (36%), followed by Trump (10%). Now, the positions are reversed, with the percentage of Republicans who name Trump as the best President ever having tripled to 36%, twice the number who still choose Ronald Reagan (18%),” according to the poll.