GOP voters may like Trump, but most Americans don’t

Remember when Donald Trump told us that we were going to win so much after he’s elected that we’d actually get tired of winning? That was then. Now, I’m guessing more than a few Republicans have grown tired — not of winning, but of losing — and are more than a little uneasy about the former president’s popularity among GOP voters.  

Republicans lost the House in 2018; they lost the presidency in 2020; they lost the Senate in January 2021. In the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans put up a lot of far-right fringe candidates whom Trump had endorsed, and the anticipated “red wave” never arrived. Democrats actually picked up a seat in the Senate and Republicans barely won the House.

But despite his role in one loss after another, Trump remains a favorite among many GOP voters.  It’s early, but polls tell us he is ahead of every GOP rival, potential candidates or the few who have actually announced. And his recent indictment in Manhattan only made him more popular with some Republicans and arguably (at least for now) more likely to win the GOP nomination.

This is where trouble kicks in for the Republican Party. Donald Trump may still have his GOP fans, but he is wildly unpopular among Americans in general.

A recent ABC News/Ipsos poll shows Joe Biden with a dismal 34 percent favorability rating — but as bad as that is, Trump’s numbers are worse: Only 25 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of the former president.  

And an NPR/Marist poll found that 61 percent of adults nationwide do not want Trump to serve another term as president — with only 38 percent of adults hoping he’s elected in 2024.

It’s way too early to make predictions, but here’s one anyway: If Joe Biden decides to run, a whole bunch of smart, energetic, Republicans can beat him. It’s a long list and you know who they are. But there’s one who would have a tough time against Biden — and that’s Donald Trump.

According to a poll by Quinnipiac University, President Biden would beat Trump 49 percent to 45 percent in a hypothetical 2024 rematch. In that same poll, Trump led Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by 14 points in a potential GOP primary. 

In 2016, Trump convinced voters that he would look out for them. Now, just about all he talks about is how he’s a victim, how Democrats are out to get him. He even still talks about the “stolen election” of 2020. Voters don’t want to hear a candidate constantly complaining about how badly he’s being treated — even if some of it is true. You get the impression listening to Donald Trump that his future is in his past.

And as long as the spotlight is on Trump, it’s not on Biden — it’s not on inflation or crime or chaos at our southern border. 

Frank Luntz, the pollster who has worked for Republican candidates, says in a New York Times opinion piece that there are ways for GOP rivals to beat Trump.

“It’s about offering Republicans the contrast they seek,” he says, “a candidate who champions Mr. Trump’s agenda but with decency, civility and a commitment to personal responsibility and accountability.”

Luntz says GOP rivals should tell voters that, “Donald Trump had my back in 2016. Now, it’s all about him. I didn’t leave Donald Trump. He left me.”

They should say, “Donald Trump was a great president, but he wasn’t always a great role model. Today, more than ever, we need character — not just courage.” They should tell voters, Luntz says, that “we don’t need to insult people to make a point, or make a difference.”

But so far, no one among his likely opponents is doing that.

And so, if the polls are right, a lot of GOP voters are rallying around the man who said we’d get tired of winning — but is responsible for a whole lot of GOP losing.

Democrats may loathe Donald Trump, but they know how much they need him.

Bernard Goldberg is an Emmy and an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University award-winning writer and journalist. He was a correspondent with HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” for 22 years and previously worked as a reporter for CBS News and as an analyst for Fox News. He is the author of five books and publishes exclusive weekly columns, audio commentaries and Q&As on his Substack page. Follow him on Twitter @BernardGoldberg.