If he is elected to another term, Americans aren’t so certain former President Donald Trump will act like a president, as a recent poll found a majority thinks he will instead act like a dictator.
The Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll asked voters how they thought Trump would act if he is reelected in 2024, to which 56% agreed, including 40% strongly agreeing, that his actions would portray that of a dictator.
The poll comes just days after Trump made comments about being a “dictator for one day” and then doubled down on them after being criticized.
“He says, ‘You’re not going to be a dictator, are you?’ I said, no, no, no — other than day one. We’re closing the border, and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator,” Trump said to Fox News’ Sean Hannity while explaining his comments.
However, the poll found that not everyone agrees with this sentiment, as the poll also found that 59% of voters feel Democrats are unfairly trying to scare voters over Trump’s comments.
Mark Penn, the chairman of the Harvard CAPS-Harris poll, shared in a statement that “Democratic talking points are having an impact on Trump.”
Another worry the poll found was that about half of voters believe Trump carries a threat to democracy if elected to another term.
In a hypothetical rematch against President Joe Biden, Trump is leading 47% to 42%, as 12% remains undecided on who to cast their vote. When pollsters required respondents to vote, Trump still led Biden 52% to 48%.
The Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll was conducted from Dec. 13 to 14 and included responses from 2,034 registered voters.