Poll: Voters say Trump’s Twitter use could cost him reelection
In recent days, President Donald Trump has turned his Twitter account into a stream of 280-character invective against Democratic front-runner Joe Biden, giving the former vice president a somnolent nickname and calling him “not very bright.”
Despite the ability to broadcast his electoral weapon directly at his 60 million followers, could the president’s participation on his favorite social media network actually hamper his chances of winning a second term?
Nearly half of respondents, 46 percent, in a POLITICO/Morning Consult poll say that, yes, Trump’s Twitter use hurts his bid for reelection — more than twice the number who say his direct-to-voters Twitter account is an asset.
Seven in 10 respondents said Trump uses Twitter too much, and 14 percent said he uses it the right amount. There were actually a few respondents, 1 percent, who said Trump doesn’t tweet enough.
Views of Trump’s Twitter use have remained consistent — and mostly negative — throughout his presidency. A year ago, 72 percent of voters said in a POLITICO/Morning Consult poll that Trump tweets too much. And in June 2017, 68 percent said Trump tweets too much.
The new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll was conducted after a particularly active week for Trump on the social media platform, following the release of the special counsel’s report on Russian election interference — which included a series of embarrassing, detailed stories of Trump’s efforts to stymie the investigation. In one 24-hour period before Biden’s entry into the presidential race last week, Trump tweeted or retweeted 50 times by POLITICO’s count — with many of the posts aimed at the usual suspects: the news media, Democrats and even Twitter itself, which Trump suggested was “very discriminatory.”
A majority of voters, 60 percent, said Trump’s use of Twitter is “a bad thing” — three times the 19 percent who said it is “a good thing.” Nearly 9 in 10 Democrats, 87 percent, said Trump’s use of Twitter is a bad thing, as did 56 percent of independent respondents. Republicans were split: 39 percent said Trump’s use of Twitter is a good thing and 34 percent say it is a bad thing.
Majorities of respondents also said Trump’s use of Twitter hurts his presidency — 55 percent — and America’s standing in the world — 54 percent. Asked whether his Twitter use helps or hurts the country’s national security, 48 percent said it hurts, while only 13 percent said it helps. The poll was conducted before Trump’s Twitter threat toward Cuba on Tuesday.
As for the political ramifications, 22 percent of respondents said Trump’s use of Twitter will help his reelection campaign next year — roughly half the 46 percent who said it will hurt. Seventeen percent said Trump’s tweets won’t have much of an effect either way.
Still, Republican voters see some benefits to Trump’s Twitter habit.
“President Trump’s breakneck use of Twitter is increasingly viewed by his base in a favorable light despite the divisiveness of some of his tweets,” said Tyler Sinclair, Morning Consult’s vice president. “Fifty-one percent of Republican voters say President Trump uses Twitter too much, compared with 58 percent who said the same in May 2018.” Among the same group, 38 percent said his use of the social network will help his reelection efforts, while only 25 percent said it will hurt those efforts, Sinclair said.
And while voters may consider Trump’s tweets as mostly self-destructive, they also think the president is inflicting damage on perhaps his most frequent target: the news media. Nearly half, 46 percent, said Trump’s use of Twitter hurts the news media, while only 20 percent said it helps the media.
The POLITICO/Morning Consult poll was conducted April 28-29, surveying 1,995 registered voters. The margin of sampling error is 2 percentage points.
Morning Consult is a nonpartisan media and technology company that provides data-driven research and insights on politics, policy and business strategy.
More details on the poll and its methodology can be found in these two documents: Toplines:https://politi.co/2PEjgCP | Crosstabs:https://politi.co/2VzLnse