Donald Trump, who kept raising the issue of the President’s birth (and who took credit for the release of the document) may not have done himself any favors. Just 29% of Americans in the latest Economist/YouGov Poll have a favorable opinion of Trump – and more than twice as many are unfavorable.
Even many Republicans are negative; half of Republicans have a favorable opinion of him, but 39% do not.
Trump is less liked than several other potential Republican candidates included in this poll: Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann and Newt Gingrich. All but Romney are more disliked than liked by the public as a whole; all are generally liked by Republicans.
Do you have a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of the following people?
| All Respondents | Republicans Only | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sarah Palin | 32% | 57% | 10% | 70% | 26% | 4% |
Mike Huckabee | 33% | 37% | 29% | 65% | 16% | 19% |
Mitt Romney | 37% | 37% | 26% | 68% | 19% | 13% |
Michele Bachmann | 21% | 37% | 42% | 48% | 14% | 38% |
Newt Gingrich | 26% | 50% | 24% | 60% | 22% | 18% |
Still, even though he is much less liked, Trump fares just about as well among registered voters in a contest against Barack Obama as do former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, suggesting that the 2012 election, like most elections where an incumbent is running for re-election, will be more about the incumbent than about the person who runs against him.
In last week’s poll, two other possible Republicans candidates fared similarly; former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin runs behind the President, 52% to 34%. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney did only slightly better. Last week, 46% supported the President, 37% favored Romney.
Full datasets for Economist/YouGov polls can be found here.
Photo source: Press Association
