Former US President Donald Trump's approval rating surges after indictment
Former US President Donald Trump's approval rating has surged following his indictment, helping him widen his lead over Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the race to become the Republican Party's nominee.
According to a poll conducted by Yahoo News and YouGov on March 30-31 with the participation of more than 1,000 Republican or independent voters leaning towards this party, the results show that Mr. Trump is leading by 31% over potential opponent, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Following in the lead are former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley at 5% and former Vice President Mike Pence at 3%. Of the four, only Mr. Trump and Ms. Haley have announced their 2024 presidential bids.
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| Former US President Donald Trump. Photo: AP |
The other candidates received nearly 2% of the vote, while 11% of respondents said they were still undecided.
In addition, Mr. Trump even attracted the support of the majority (52%, up from 44% previously), while his opponent DeSantis dropped sharply to 21% (down from 28%).
At the same time, when the surveyor asked the same question but limited the answer to only two options, Mr. Trump and Mr. DeSantis, the rates corresponding to former President and Governor DeSantis were 57% and 31%, respectively.
According to Yahoo, Mr. Trump has significantly increased the gap with Mr. DeSantis compared to a poll less than 2 weeks ago, when the former President only led the Florida governor by 8% in a direct confrontation.
The latest poll, however, shows a wider divide as Yahoo News-YouGov asked voters in general, not just those who lean Republican.
Also in the survey, 45% of respondents said that Mr. Trump falsified business records to hide the “hush money” payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels. 26% of voters believe that the former President did not know about it, while 29% were unsure./.