Every time Donald Trump makes a blatantly false or derogatory statement, pundits wonder if this will finally topple Trump from his lead in the polls among Republican voters.
Most recently, Trump has dishonestly claimed that “thousands and thousands” of Muslim-Americans in Jersey City celebrated the 9/11 attacks, called for closing mosques and floated the idea of a government database to monitor all Muslims.
None of these statements, however, has had any impact on Trump’s poll numbers in the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire, where his lead has barely changed in the last month and a half.
In fact, as Public Policy Polling found in a survey released today, Trump’s supporters are big fans of his anti-Muslim rants.
A majority of respondents who said they backed Trump agreed that “thousands of Arabs in New Jersey celebrated the attacks of 9/11,” said they were “in favor of a national database of Muslims” and backed “a ban specifically on assault weapons for Muslims,” even though a majority opposed a universal assault weapons ban.
And we wonder why Trump is still ahead in the polls….
As for Trump he was at 28% in mid-October and he's at 27% now, so his standing couldn't be much more steady. His favorability rating with Republicans has actually improved a tick, from 48/42 the last poll to now 50/39. The key to Trump's sustained success is that his supporters basically buy into everything he says. There's an almost cult like aspect to it, with Trump fans following the leader.
Examples:
-58% of Trump voters think thousands of Arabs in New Jersey celebrated the attacks of 9/11 to only 12% who don't think that happened. This is despite only 30% of Republican voters overall believing that to 39% who don't.
-53% of Trump supporters are in favor of a national database of Muslims, to only 22% opposed to that concept. This is despite only 29% of Republicans overall supporting the idea to 44% who are against it. In fact supporters of all 13 of the other candidates are against this concept.
-49% of Trump supporters want to shut down the mosques in the United States, to only 18% against that idea. Overall only 25% of Republicans support doing that to 44% who oppose it. Again on this issue supporters of every single candidate other than Trump are against it.
-Additionally we asked voters about an assault weapons ban and only 20% of Trump voters support it to 66% who are opposed. We then asked about a ban specifically on assault weapons for Muslims, and 56% of Trump voters support that to only 22% who are opposed.
