AP-NORC Poll: About 60 Percent of Americans Want Trump to Withdraw from Presidential Race

Most Americans want Donald Trump to drop out of the race. Most Americans believe Trump is dishonest. Most Americans reject Trump’s vision for the country. And most Americans don’t trust Trump to handle a crisis. 

These are the damning results of an AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey released on Wednesday.

The poll shows 57 percent of Americans want Trump to drop out of the race: 51 percent of Independents, 86 percent of Democrats, and 26 percent of Republicans.

While the survey was conducted July 11-15, mostly before the assassination attempt on Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania, that event hasn’t changed Trump’s character, campaign, or capabilities. 

When the AP initially reported on the poll it focused on the results for President Joe Biden – who even more Americans wanted to drop out – and who ultimately did. Other scant media coverage treated the Trump numbers as an unimportant afterthought. 

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While the future of Biden’s candidacy had dominated the national conversation, the results for Trump may be even more grim given that so many American voters, including a majority of Republicans, don’t even think he is honest. Yet these results didn’t gain the same media traction.

Republicans should be worried with these numbers, especially now. 

The AP-NORC survey also showed that just 21 percent of Americans believe Trump is honest, which includes 18 percent of Independents, 3 percent of Democrats, and only 45 percent of Republicans. In addition, only 34 percent of Americans, with 32 percent of Independents and 4 percent of Democrats believe Trump “has the right vision for the country.” Lastly, 38 percent of Americans, with 35 percent of Independents and 8 percent of Democrats believe the 78-year-old Republican candidate is “capable of handling a crisis.” 

How is this not a bigger media story?

With Biden stepping down and Vice President Kamala Harris looking likely to be nominated in August and revitalizing a previously sputtering Democratic presidential campaign, the poll results should terrify Trump’s Republican Party.

Let’s see if the media finally scrutinizes this bleak election outlook for Trump. 

Methodology: This AP-NORC poll was conducted July 11-15, 2024 using the AmeriSpeak® Panel. The poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,253 adults. The results have a margin of error of +/- 3.8 percentage points.