In principle, most Americans do not want President Joe Biden (53%) to run for president in 2024, and most do not want former President Donald Trump (56%) to run — sentiments that have not changed since before the 2022 congressional elections.
In the latest Economist/YouGov poll, about one-quarter of Americans (27%) would like neither man to seek the White House again, while 8% want them both to run. Democrats (22%) and Republicans (25%) are about equally likely to say they want neither man to campaign for the presidency again.
With two years to go until the election, Republican and Democratic views on the party front-runners are complicated. About two in five Republicans (43%) want Trump to run, and not Biden, while 10% are uncertain about Trump and do not want Biden. Just 36% of Democrats want Biden to run again and not Trump, and 23% are unsure about Biden while saying no to Trump.
After announcing his 2024 candidacy last week, Donald Trump has gained in Republican assessment. This week, more Republicans say they want Trump to run in 2024 than did last week. A majority (56%) of Republicans now say he should run, up from 47% last week, just after the elections. Last week, in the wake of an easy re-election victory by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and many criticisms of Trump for his endorsement choices, DeSantis beat Trump as Republicans' preferred GOP nominee, 46% to 39%, in a hypothetical matchup of the two current favorites. This week, Trump has an edge of 3 percentage points over DeSantis among Republicans, 45% to 42%.
Biden and Trump have different strengths, according to public opinion, and neither man is expected by more than about one-third of Americans to go down in history as an above-average or outstanding President.
Biden (40%) is seen by more Americans as a good role model for children than Trump (29%) is. More Americans think Biden is honest and trustworthy than say that about Trump, and the same goes for each man's likability.
Each man is more likely to be seen as less intelligent than previous presidents rather than more intelligent, and the same goes for competence. Similar percentages of Americans think each man is uncaring about people like themselves. Trump is seen by more as a strong leader (55% say this about Trump, compared to 44% for Biden).
While the responses are very partisan, they aren't symmetrical: Republicans often are more likely to give Trump the most favorable evaluation on these questions than Democrats are to give Biden the most favorable assessment.
– Carl Bialik contributed to this article
Polling by the Economist/YouGov was conducted on November 19 - 22, 2022 among 1,500 U.S. adult citizens. Explore more on the methodology and data for this Economist/YouGov poll.
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