Only 18 percent of Americans would “definitely” vote to re-elect Donald Trump in 2020, with another 18 percent saying they “probably” would — leaving the president’s support at about one-third of the electorate, a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found.
In the survey released Wednesday, 38 percent of Americans said they would definitely vote for his Democratic challenger, with another 14 percent saying they probably would. Forty-five percent of respondents said the country is in worse shape since Trump took office, and 30 percent say it’s better off.
There are signs that the president’s base is wobbling: Only 43 percent of Republicans said they would definitely vote for him. Among Democrats, 73 percent said they would definitely vote against Trump. Support among Trump’s key constituencies has dropped: In the 2016 election, 66 percent of whites without a college degree voted for Trump, but today only 47 percent say they will vote for him in 2020. Similarly, 61 percent of rural voters went for Trump in the presidential election, but only 43 percent say they’ll vote for his re-election.
The survey found that the Russia investigation may be taking a toll: 38 percent of Americans believe the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to swing the 2016 election, while 35 percent say there was no collusion, and 26 percent aren’t sure. Forty percent of Americans now believe that Congress should hold impeachment hearings, including 70 percent of Democrats, 40 percent of independents and 7 percent of Republicans.
The poll, conducted from Dec. 13-15, didn’t take into account Wednesday’s passage of the GOP tax bill, which Trump said was a “big, beautiful Christmas present” for the American people, but the bill’s contained benefits are geared toward corporations and the wealthy. The bill’s elimination of the Obamacare individual mandate is projected to cause 13 million people to lose health insurance over the next decade. Poll respondents were clear in their disapproval of the tax plan: 41 percent said it was a bad idea, compared to 24 percent who said it was a good one.
