Chart: The Economist
Posted on 10/09/2025 7:45:02 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Most presidential hopefuls make hokey promises to fix the economy, heal divisions or restore America’s promise. Donald Trump offered something different. “For those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution,” he promised the crowd at the 2023 Conservative Political Action Conference. Since his inauguration in January that vengeance has come relentlessly.
The administration has ordered investigations into former Biden aides, bullied some of the country’s most powerful law firms and cut federal funding for universities. Two weeks ago James Comey, the onetime FBI director who was fired by Mr Trump in 2017 for investigating Russia’s election interference, became the latest and most high-profile casualty in this campaign of retribution. “One of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to,” Mr Trump wrote about Mr Comey hours after he was indicted on charges of making false statements to a Senate committee (he denies those charges). Few transgressions are too small to warrant punishment. Reports suggest that an FBI agent who refused to stage a perp walk of the former director was suspended.
How do those who voted for the president feel about all this? Polling from YouGov/The Economist shows that most Republicans are largely in favour of the revenge agenda, while independents, whose votes helped tip the election in Mr Trump’s favour, overwhelmingly dislike it.
YouGov asked respondents about 25 items in Mr Trump’s revenge agenda. Only one drew more opposition than support from Republicans: deporting American citizens who disagree with the president. Yet, strikingly, over a third of Republicans still backed an idea that is unconstitutional, impractical (deport them to where?) and criminalises political disagreement. Two other policies divided Republicans almost evenly: cutting federal funding to cities led by mayors who oppose Mr Trump and directing federally funded museums to remove exhibits the president disapproves of. The remaining 22 policies were comfortably in positive territory with Republicans. A 65-point margin supported sending the National Guard into cities that defy Mr Trump and a 45-point margin endorsed the Department of Justice’s investigations of his political opponents.
Most presidential hopefuls make hokey promises to fix the economy, heal divisions or restore America’s promise. Donald Trump offered something different. “For those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution,” he promised the crowd at the 2023 Conservative Political Action Conference. Since his inauguration in January that vengeance has come relentlessly. The administration has ordered investigations into former Biden aides, bullied some of the country’s most powerful law firms and cut federal funding for universities. Two weeks ago James Comey, the onetime FBI director who was fired by Mr Trump in 2017 for investigating Russia’s election interference, became the latest and most high-profile casualty in this campaign of retribution. “One of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to,” Mr Trump wrote about Mr Comey hours after he was indicted on charges of making false statements to a Senate committee (he denies those charges). Few transgressions are too small to warrant punishment. Reports suggest that an FBI agent who refused to stage a perp walk of the former director was suspended.
Chart: The Economist
How do those who voted for the president feel about all this? Polling from YouGov/The Economist shows that most Republicans are largely in favour of the revenge agenda, while independents, whose votes helped tip the election in Mr Trump’s favour, overwhelmingly dislike it.
YouGov asked respondents about 25 items in Mr Trump’s revenge agenda. Only one drew more opposition than support from Republicans: deporting American citizens who disagree with the president. Yet, strikingly, over a third of Republicans still backed an idea that is unconstitutional, impractical (deport them to where?) and criminalises political disagreement. Two other policies divided Republicans almost evenly: cutting federal funding to cities led by mayors who oppose Mr Trump and directing federally funded museums to remove exhibits the president disapproves of. The remaining 22 policies were comfortably in positive territory with Republicans. A 65-point margin supported sending the National Guard into cities that defy Mr Trump and a 45-point margin endorsed the Department of Justice’s investigations of his political opponents.
By contrast, all 25 of these proposals are unpopular with independents. The most even split is on whether Mr Trump should revoke Secret Service protection for officials in the previous administration, though 52% of these voters still oppose this. Deporting American citizens who disagree with the president is the least popular of the lot: independents rejected it by a 69-point margin. A majority of respondents who say they voted for Joe Biden in 2020 but switched to Mr Trump in 2024 oppose the revenge agenda on every question asked by YouGov, although the number in the sample is small.
Who are the Trump voters uneasy with the politics of punishment? Our analysis says they are more likely to be women and older voters, as well as those with higher levels of education and those who say they attend church regularly. Respondents who pay less attention to day-to-day politics are also more likely to recoil. The most enthusiastic supporters are men, those who live in rural areas, those with at most a high-school diploma and those who tell pollsters they are very interested in politics. This is a faction that is especially likely to see the Trump administration’s vengeance not as excess but as justice delayed.
Republicans polled by YouGov are three times as likely as Democrats to say they are “not sure” how they feel about elements of the revenge agenda. When the share of such responses is so high, it can reflect respondents’ reluctance to express an opinion that is unpopular in their social circle. In this case, some Republicans may be uneasy with the revenge agenda, but are reluctant to criticise their party’s leader. Others may quietly want vengeance yet know that more punitive views are socially unacceptable.
That said, in the same poll Mr Trump’s overall approval rating among Republicans stood at plus 77 points. They may not all like his revenge agenda, but they still love the president.
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There is ZERO “revenge.”
It is JUSTICE. It is no one is above the law. It is about ferreting out the most horrendous scandal in the history of the Republic and holding the huge cabal of plotters and coupists to account.
Talk about a push poll
Calling it “revenge” shows the bias of the writer and publisher.
“The Economist”?
More like the E-Communist.
“The Economist “
Isn’t great how the far left rat propaganda outlets have these traditional conservatives names. “Revenge Agenda” the idiots don’t even realize by using that term they are admitting Trump would have something to avenge.
It’s the law if dems do it but it’s revenge if Trump does it.
If the ones being charged did nothing wrong what could Trump AVENGE? Now if they are guilty then they belong in jail. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW.
Well, yes. That should have been a clue to the Economist's analysts that maybe they're overthinking this whole thing.
Deporting American citizens???
Trump doesn’t do revenge. He does however believe in justice and accountability.
After what the Dems have done to Trump and the whole of our nation I wouldn’t really have a problem if there was revenge.
Exactly.
(But I’d be OK with revenge, too. It must be the Scorpio in me - LOL!)
“The Economist is a British news and current affairs journal... Mostly written and edited in London... prominently features data journalism, and has a focus on interpretive analysis over original reporting, to both criticism and acclaim.”
Who cares what Brit nitwits think about US. They live in a broken cesspool of their own making, and should focus on fixing their OWN country before it dies and rots.
There is ZERO “revenge.”
It is JUSTICE.
____________________________________________
EXACTLY!!!!
The Economist is considered conservative by communists only. British rag jumped the shark in the 90s. Didn’t know it was still around, clinging to its dozen or so readers.
Recompense + retribution ≠ “Revenge”
When did Trump ever say he wanted to deport US citizens who disagree with him?
This seems to be a sneaky way to claim Trump says something that I’ve never heard him say. Granted, I haven’t heard everything that he says, but deporting US citizens isn’t even on the table as far as I know. Unless it’s talking about deporting Ilhan Omar, who committed immigration fraud - which warrants stripping her of her US citizenship and THEN deporting her. Which isn’t the same thing as deporting a US citizen.
This is obviously a gotcha poll because they used the words “who disagree with him” instead of something like “who have committed crimes”.
Years ago “The Economist” was a great magazine with little to no bias. I read it for years and subscribed to it for years. If the Economist said it, you could bet on it.
The Economist is no longer its once great self and just part of the left wing media. This is sad.
“I have read His righteous sentence
Wrought in words of fiery steel:
‘As you deal with My contenders
So my grace with you shall deal’;
May the Victor born of Woman
Crush the serpent with His heel
His truth is marching on!”
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