Posted on 07/15/2015 9:57:36 AM PDT by Kaslin
Only 25 percent of voters think Trump is a serious candidate for president, which has literally not changed since 1999. At that time, 23 percent of voters viewed Trump as a serious candidate when he ran briefly for the Reform Party’s nomination the following year. Right now, 74 percent thinks he’s not serious, and that figure hasn’t changed since 1999 as well. One third of the country views him favorably, which is abysmal. But more Republicans tend to view him as a serious candidates when you break it down by party–and they also view him in a much more favorable light as well (via Gallup):
While a consistent percentage of Americans take Trump's presidential candidacy seriously, views by party groups have changed over time. Today, with Trump competing for the GOP nomination rather than a third-party bid, 41% of Republicans say they consider Trump a serious candidate, compared with 20% in 1999. Democrats, meanwhile, take Trump even less seriously as a candidate today (12%) than they did in 1999 (20%), while independents' views haven't changed.
[…]
In general, Trump typically has been seen more unfavorably than favorably since Gallup first asked about him in 1999, with the sole exception occurring in 2005, when 50% of the country viewed him favorably and 38% viewed him unfavorably. At the time, Trump starred in the hit show "The Apprentice" and was not actively involved in the political arena.
Trump fares better with Republicans overall, with a 49% favorable rating and 38% unfavorable score. But his high-profile candidacy appears not to have won him any additional admiration among Republicans -- his favorable rating among this group is about where it was in 2005.
At the same time, a lot of Republicans can’t stand Trump, though he has tapped into a frustration over illegal immigration and the lack of the enforcement of the rule of law in general. That alone is frustrating for any voter, and Trump was the first candidate to address the issue in an aggressive manner. Moreover, his comments on trade surely will catch fire with an electorate that has become much more populist and skeptical of free trade deals, especially ones–like the Trans-Pacific Partnership– that are trying to be finalized by this administration. The boost in polls is mainly grounded in the fact that he has name recognition. Illegal immigration was already going to be an issue next year over Obama’s executive actions in the arena, and someone else (who’s more serious) is going to discuss it on the campaign trial. The death of Katie Steinle, who was killed by an illegal immigrant in San Francisco, has started a debate–or at least it should–about sanctuary cities, which purposefully skirt immigration enforcement laws. Leah found all of them, which you can read here. This only helps Trump at this point, though I hope more serious candidates (Walker, Rubio, etc.) start to take this issue on the road, and relegate the Trump candidacy as just pure entertainment because that’s what it is at heart.
Thanks for the useless info, Gallup.
Loser. There’s no other word. Interesting loser.
It’s reasonable because people see him as a brash business man and TV personality.
BUT if Trump can continue his rise, that may be his virtue. I think most Americans know that professional politicians are empty suits.
The should all be deported for questioning our overlord!
He dropped out before because he didn’t do well so he isn’t taken seriously.
If he sticks with it they will know he is real.
If he pulls an H. Ross Perot move, I hope he has the courtesy to do so long before the first caucus in Iowa.
My choices for President right now are Ted Cruz & Scott Walker and, maybe, Donald Trump.
I disagree with Trump on a lot of things but if four years of Trump is what it takes to secure not just our southern border but our demographic future then so be it.
Perhaps that’s all that it will take to win in a populace so apathetic.
The MSM and GOPe’s must think he is serious, as they have trashed
Trump for 3 straight weeks...to no avail.
Yes, everyone hates the archetypal lying weasel politician.
If he stays in, the growth will equate to momentum.
You're navel-gazing again.
25% of 300+ million Americans is 75 million. That is about 10 million more voters than voted for Obama during the last election.
Just more useless and meaningless space fillers from the usual suspects. A pointless poll question at this point in the campaign process.
But 60%+ don’t like Obamacare.
Imagine liberals heads exploding every day, them completely pissed and demoralized every day for years and years.
Then you will start seeing Trump as a serious candidate, if you can't already.
It doesn’t matter what Democrats think of him, so why include that sample?
If Gallup wanted to skew this even more, they could have included Canadians and South Americans in the sample as well: “Only 4% of residents in the Americas View Donald Trump as a Serious Candidate!11!!!”
A real what? A real phony? He dropped out before because he was too liberal for the GOP. Now he is 180 degrees shifted on every important issue.
Don't be so hard on yourself.
If they could, the Democrats would include Canadians and Central- and South-Americans in every American federal election.
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