One of the biggest and most pressing questions in the aftermath of the 2024 election is just how much President-elect Donald Trump follows through on some of his more authoritarian-leaning proposals.
This is a man, after all, who talked about suspending parts of the Constitution, being a dictator for a day, criminalizing dissent and targeting his political enemies for retribution. Trump’s defenders often dismiss these comments as mere provocations, but only one man knows what’s in the president-elect’s heart. And there will surely be fewer obstacles in his second term if he does go down some undemocratic paths.
Get the latest election news and results
One of those diminished obstacles will be Trump’s own base.
For months, we’ve seen some remarkable findings when it comes to just how much the GOP base is willing to countenance or entertain authoritarianism. And we can now add another poll to the mix.
Monmouth University on Thursday released new data on a question it’s been asking for a while. The question notes that Trump has talked about suspending laws and constitutional provisions, and asked whether people would be bothered if he targeted his political enemies after doing so.
🏛️
Follow Politics
Trump’s allies are increasingly unbothered.
Just 23 percent of Republicans in the poll said they would be “bothered a lot” if Trump did this. That’s down from 41 percent in July and 25 percent in October. And it’s now less than the percentage who say they would not be bothered at all (36 percent).
(The remainder — about one-third of Republicans — say they would be “bothered a little.”)
The data also suggest that Trump-leaning independents have shifted significantly. Overall, the percentage of independents who say they would be bothered a lot if Trump targeted his enemies has dropped from 68 percent in July, to 60 percent in October, to 55 percent today.
Overall, nearly two-thirds of Americans said in July that they would be “bothered a lot” (65 percent) by such behavior. Now it’s just a slight majority (52 percent).
It’s merely the latest in a long line of data suggesting Republicans aren’t terribly concerned with democratic guardrails, at least when Trump is involved:
But we’ve also seen over and over how the Republican Party tends to talk itself into the things Trump wants to do.
He’ll plant a seed of a seemingly shocking idea and then fertilize it gradually over time, all the while bringing his party along for the ride. The most pronounced case is the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection, which Republicans gradually came to believe wasn’t that bad and even that those responsible have been persecuted.
We don’t know what Trump’s true intentions are when it comes to targeting his enemies. Trump said over the weekend that members of the House Jan. 6 committee should be jailed, the latest in a long line of foes he’s said things like that about.
But in a new Time magazine interview published Thursday, Trump said that he hasn’t discussed prosecutions of rivals with his choice for attorney general, former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi (R), and that it would be up to her on whether to proceed. (Bondi last year talked about how “prosecutors will be prosecuted — the bad ones” and “the investigators will be investigated.” Trump has also announced a pick for FBI director, Kash Patel, who has talked about targeting Trump’s enemies.)
Still, if Trump and/or his Justice Department do press forward with such a drastic plan, much of his base will apparently back him up — or at least not object too strenuously.
This is a man, after all, who talked about suspending parts of the Constitution, being a dictator for a day, criminalizing dissent and targeting his political enemies for retribution. Trump’s defenders often dismiss these comments as mere provocations, but only one man knows what’s in the president-elect’s heart. And there will surely be fewer obstacles in his second term if he does go down some undemocratic paths.
Get the latest election news and resultsOne of those diminished obstacles will be Trump’s own base.
For months, we’ve seen some remarkable findings when it comes to just how much the GOP base is willing to countenance or entertain authoritarianism. And we can now add another poll to the mix.
Monmouth University on Thursday released new data on a question it’s been asking for a while. The question notes that Trump has talked about suspending laws and constitutional provisions, and asked whether people would be bothered if he targeted his political enemies after doing so.
🏛️
Follow Politics
Trump’s allies are increasingly unbothered.
Just 23 percent of Republicans in the poll said they would be “bothered a lot” if Trump did this. That’s down from 41 percent in July and 25 percent in October. And it’s now less than the percentage who say they would not be bothered at all (36 percent).
(The remainder — about one-third of Republicans — say they would be “bothered a little.”)
The data also suggest that Trump-leaning independents have shifted significantly. Overall, the percentage of independents who say they would be bothered a lot if Trump targeted his enemies has dropped from 68 percent in July, to 60 percent in October, to 55 percent today.
Overall, nearly two-thirds of Americans said in July that they would be “bothered a lot” (65 percent) by such behavior. Now it’s just a slight majority (52 percent).
It’s merely the latest in a long line of data suggesting Republicans aren’t terribly concerned with democratic guardrails, at least when Trump is involved:
- 57 percent of Republicans earlier this year said it would be a good thing if Trump were able to act “without having to worry about Congress and the courts.”
- 52 percent agreed that we need “a strong president who should be allowed to rule without too much interference from courts and Congress.”
- 56 percent of Republicans in April agreed that “we need a leader who is willing to break some rules to set things right.”
- 30 percent of Trump supporters last year agreed that we need a leader who doesn’t just break rules but also laws.
- A pre-election poll showed one-quarter of Republicans said Trump should try to seize power if he loses.
- A February poll showed 74 percent of Republicans favored Trump being dictator for a day.
But we’ve also seen over and over how the Republican Party tends to talk itself into the things Trump wants to do.
He’ll plant a seed of a seemingly shocking idea and then fertilize it gradually over time, all the while bringing his party along for the ride. The most pronounced case is the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection, which Republicans gradually came to believe wasn’t that bad and even that those responsible have been persecuted.
We don’t know what Trump’s true intentions are when it comes to targeting his enemies. Trump said over the weekend that members of the House Jan. 6 committee should be jailed, the latest in a long line of foes he’s said things like that about.
But in a new Time magazine interview published Thursday, Trump said that he hasn’t discussed prosecutions of rivals with his choice for attorney general, former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi (R), and that it would be up to her on whether to proceed. (Bondi last year talked about how “prosecutors will be prosecuted — the bad ones” and “the investigators will be investigated.” Trump has also announced a pick for FBI director, Kash Patel, who has talked about targeting Trump’s enemies.)
Still, if Trump and/or his Justice Department do press forward with such a drastic plan, much of his base will apparently back him up — or at least not object too strenuously.
