Defeated and impeached, Trump still commands the loyalty of the GOP’s voters
If there’s a civil war in the Republican Party, the voters who backed Donald Trump in November’s election are ready to choose sides.
Behind Trump.
An exclusive Suffolk University/USA TODAY Poll finds Trump’s support largely unshaken after his second impeachment trial in the Senate, this time on a charge of inciting an insurrection in the deadly assault on the Capitol Jan. 6.
By double digits, 46%-27%, those surveyed say they would abandon the GOP and join the Trump party if the former president decided to create one. The rest are undecided.
“We feel like Republicans don’t fight enough for us, and we all see Donald Trump fighting for us as hard as he can, every single day,” Brandon Keidl, 27, a Republican and small-business owner from Milwaukee, says in an interview after being polled. “But then you have establishment Republicans who just agree with establishment Democrats and everything, and they don’t ever push back.”
Half of those polled say the GOP should become “more loyal to Trump,” even at the cost of losing support among establishment Republicans. One in five, 19%, say the party should become less loyal to Trump and more aligned with establishment Republicans. [Continue reading…]