Politics
GOP support for Trump surges, most reject anti-Trump critics
Support among Republicans for former President Donald Trump and his likely 2024 bid is surging, as is the rejection of any who decry him, according to new polling.
Instead of losing ground with Republicans, especially after leaving office, the Pew Research Center found that Trump is gaining and that nearly half want him to run again.
What’s more, most Republicans want Trump to remain the party’s major leader and spokesman.
“The share of Republicans who say Trump should continue to be a major national figure has grown 10 percentage points — from 57% to 67% — since a January survey that was conducted in the waning days of his administration and in the immediate wake of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol,” said Pew in its survey shared with Secrets.
And in the latest sign of how the former president has turned the GOP into his own support group, two-thirds of Republicans told Pew that “their party should not be accepting of elected officials who criticize Trump.”
Said the pollster: “A 63% majority of Republicans say their party should be not too (32%) or not at all (30%) accepting of elected officials who openly criticize Trump, according to the new survey. Just 36% of Republicans say the GOP should be very (11%) or somewhat (26%) accepting of officials who do so.