A new survey found that a majority of Republicans say it is fine for former President Donald Trump to be a dictator for the day if he wins the 2024 presidential election.
The survey from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and YouGov found that 74% of Republican voters said it would be a good idea if Trump follows through on his remarks in which he said he would be a dictator only on the first day of his second term. Twenty-six percent of Republicans say it would be a bad thing.
Thirty-six percent of independent voters said it would be good, while 65% said it would be a bad idea.
Democrats were much more opposed. Only 13% of Democratic respondents said it would be a good idea for the country if Trump fulfilled his vow to be dictator for a day, while 87% said it would be a bad idea.
Trump has said in the past that he would not be a dictator if he were reelected, “except for day one.” On the campaign trail in Iowa in December, Trump doubled down on his claims that he would close the border and be “drilling, drilling, drilling” on his first day back in office.
“After that, I’m not a dictator,” he told Sean Hannity of Fox News.
The remarks have fueled concern for Democrats and even some Republicans that a second Trump term could threaten democracy, as he has threatened to abuse power and target people who have disagreed with him.
The former president is currently defending himself against 91 criminal charges among four state and federal criminal indictments. He is the front-runner to become the GOP’s nominee for the 2024 presidential election.
According to the survey, voters are split on whether they believe Trump is guilty of charges that he tried to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Fifty-eight percent of respondents said Trump is likely guilty, while 42% said they believe he is innocent. Seventy-two percent of Republican voters said they think the former president is innocent.
The survey was conducted Jan. 25-30 among 1,064 respondents. It has a margin of error of 3.7%.
