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.
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.
The survey of 1,000 Trump voters, identified from 2020 polls, was taken by landline and cellphone last Monday through Friday. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
They express stronger loyalty to Trump the person (54%) than they did to the Republican Party that twice nominated him for the White House (34%).
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Trump voters are prepared to punish those who crossed him. Eight in 10 say they would be less likely to vote for a Republican candidate who supported Trump's impeachment, as 10 representatives did in the House. An equal portion, 80%, say the seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump were motivated by political calculations, not their consciences.
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Only 4% say the impeachment trial made them less supportive of Trump; 42% say it made them more supportive. Fifty-four percent say it didn't affect their support.
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Most Trump voters embrace a version of events on Jan. 6 that has been debunked by independent fact checkers and law enforcement agencies.
Asked to describe what happened during the assault on the Capitol, 58% of Trump voters call it "mostly an antifa-inspired attack that only involved a few Trump supporters." That's more than double the 28% who call it "a rally of Trump supporters, some of whom attacked the Capitol." Four percent call it "an attempted coup inspired by President Trump."
Law enforcement investigations found no evidence of a role by antifa, a loose alliance of leftist, anti-fascist groups that have staged demonstrations in some cities, particularly on the West Coast. Most of those arrested in the assault Jan. 6 identified themselves as Trump supporters.
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In the poll, more than nine of 10 Trump voters say the former president isn't guilty of inciting an insurrection. Almost 8 in 10 say the crowd would have stormed the Capitol even if Trump hadn't urged them to "fight like hell" at a rally outside the White House that day.
Calling Trump responsible for the attack is "insane," protests Jane Wiles, 76, a retired insurance manager from Treasure Island, Florida. "Was he there? No. Unless he was there leading the pack, he is not responsible."
By 2-1, 59%-29%, Trump voters say they want him to run for president again in 2024. If he ran, three of four, 76%, would support him for the nomination; 85% would vote for him in a general election.
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Trump voters aren't ready to acknowledge Joe Biden as president despite his margin of victory of 7 million votes nationwide.
Three of four, 73%, say Biden wasn't legitimately elected. Most don't want their representatives to cooperate with him, even if that means gridlock in Washington.
Six in 10, 62%, say congressional Republicans "should do their best to stand up to Biden on major policies, even if it means little gets passed." That's more than double the 26% who say congressional Republicans "should do their best to work with Biden on major policies, even if it means making compromises."
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There are disquieting findings in the poll for Fox News, which has prospered as the dominant news source for conservatives. In a USA TODAY/Suffolk Poll in October 2016, 58% of Trump voters said Fox was their most trusted source of news. In the new poll, that drops to 34%.
Trust has risen in two relatively new outlets that have made their reputations by championing Trump. Newsmax is the most trusted among 17% of Trump voters, followed by 9% for One American News Network, or OANN.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/pol ... 765406002/