Most Americans know at least some facts about Donald Trump. How much they know, and whether it's true, are linked closely to their political party. A YouGov survey conducted after the 2024 election asked Americans whether 35 claims about Trump are true or false; 25 of them are true and 10 are false.
While many people are aware of several biographical facts about Trump — such as his age, wealth, and marital history — fewer are aware of other parts of his life story, including his education, recognition he has received, and allegations against his companies and nonprofits.
Of 25 facts about Trump included in the survey, Americans are most likely to believe that he was hit by a bullet during as assassination attempt (79% say this is definitely or probably true), hosted The Apprentice TV show (78%), and is 78 years old (78%). Large majorities also think that Trump is a billionaire (73%), has been married three times (71%), and appointed three Supreme Court Justices (69%).
Americans are less likely to be aware of Trump's legal issues, including that his company, the Trump Organization, was found guilty of criminal tax fraud (55% say this is definitely or probably true), that he was impeached twice (62%), or that he was found liable for sexual abuse (62%). The case against Trump that Americans are most likely to know about is the one for falsifying business records for a hush money payment: 67% believe it is true that he was convicted of multiple felonies in the case.
Majorities of Americans are unaware of certain facts about Trump. Fewer than half say it's definitely or probably true that he has a degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania (36%), was named Time Magazine's Person of the Year in 2016 (39%), was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (39%), is credited as the author of several best-selling books (39%), or received several deferments from the draft during the Vietnam War (47%).
Many beliefs about Trump break down along party lines. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to believe negative facts about Trump, including that he was found liable for sexual abuse (62% vs. 48%), has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than a dozen women (64% vs. 44%), that his company was found guilty of criminal tax fraud (55% vs. 36%), and that he used money from his non-profits for personal and business expenses (49% vs. 30%).
Republicans are more likely than Democrats to believe that Trump's ear was hit by a bullet in an assassination attempt (92% vs. 62%) and that he is a billionaire (89% vs. 56%).
Members of both major parties are about equally likely to believe Trump has been registered with both the Democratic and Republican parties, was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, has appointed three Supreme Court justices, has five children, and is credited as the author of several best-selling books.
The survey also asked Americans their views on 10 false statements about Trump, five of which are positive and five of which are negative. Nearly half of Americans (46%) believe Trump presided over the lowest unemployment rate in U.S. history. At least one-third believe Trump inherited all his wealth (38%), directly told his supporters to attack the Capitol (36%), drew the largest inaugural crowd in history (35%), and spent time with rescue workers at Ground Zero soon after the September 11 attacks (35%). (The survey randomized the order in which the true and false statements were shown to respondents.)
Majorities of Democrats — but few Republicans — believe that Trump directed the January 6 Capitol attack, or that he inherited his wealth.
At least about half of Republicans — but few Democrats — believe that Trump oversaw historically low unemployment, spent time at Ground Zero after Sept. 11, or set a record for crowd size at his 2017 inauguration.
See the results for this YouGov survey
— Carl Bialik contributed to this article
Methodology: This article includes results from an online survey conducted November 15 - 19, 2024 among 1,121 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of adult U.S. citizens. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. 2024 presidential vote, at time of weighting, was estimated to be 48% Harris and 50% Trump. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given prior to November 1, 2022, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (33% Democratic, 31% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4%.
Image: Getty
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