Two-thirds of Republican primary voters say they are not worried about former President Donald Trump's electability.
A new national NBC News poll found that despite his recent criminal arrest and other legal investigations into his past conduct, the majority of Republican voters stand by Trump.
"That — along with his double-digit lead over his nearest potential GOP rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis — makes Trump the clear front-runner in the early race for the Republican presidential nomination," NBC said.
If the Republican primary were being held today, 46% of GOP voters would pick Trump as their first choice versus 31% who would select DeSantis, the poll shows.
While Trump was the first Republican to throw his hat into the ring, DeSantis has yet to formally announce a 2024 campaign. However, the governor is expected to launch a run for the White House in the late spring after the Florida state legislature wraps up its annual session.
When asked about the investigations into Trump, 68% of respondents agreed with the statement: "They are a politically motivated attempt to stop Trump from becoming president again. No other candidate is like Donald Trump and we must support him now to stop his opponents from winning." Another 43% believe Trump "is being unfairly targeted and someone else would not face these charges."
Despite GOP enthusiasm for Trump, the poll shows that most Americans don't want the former president — or President Biden, for that matter — to run for reelection.
"At this stage, 2024 is shaping up to be a sequel of the 2020 election," pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research, told NBC. "Sequels are frequently hits at the box office, but apparently not at the ballot box."
The poll found that 60% of Americans think Trump shouldn't take another run, including roughly a third of Republicans. Of those who think he shouldn't campaign in 2024, 30% cited the criminal charges Trump faces in New York as a "major" reason.
At the same time, 70% of Americans think Biden shouldn't seek a second term, including 51% of Democrats, the poll shows. Of those who said he shouldn't run again, 48% cited Biden's age — he's 80-years-old — as a "major" reason.
While Biden hasn't made a formal campaign announcement, he's expected to launch a re-election bid in the coming days.
If Biden does run for reelection, 41% of voters said they would vote for him in the general election, while 47% said they would vote for the Republican candidate.
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