Quinnipiac poll: Half of Americans embarrassed by Donald Trump
A new poll finds that half of Americans say they would be embarrassed to have Donald Trump as president. Credit: AFP / Getty Images / Robyn Beck
ALBANY — Half of Americans say they would be embarrassed to have Donald Trump as president and 28 percent of Republicans said they definitely wouldn’t support the brash and bold billionaire, according to a poll released Tuesday.
The Quinnipiac University poll found that although Trump remains the front-runner in most polls in a crowded Republican field, he would lose in a general election against either of the top Democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders.
“Most Americans think [Trump] doesn’t have a good chance in November, but there he is, still at the top of the Republican heap,” said Tim Malloy, director of the poll. “Can a candidate that half the American electorate thinks is an embarrassment win in November?”
The Quinnipiac poll also found Trump in a statistical tie with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Trump had 28 percent of Republican support. while Cruz had 24 percent. That’s a 4-point spread in the part of the poll that had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
The poll found Florida Sen. Marco Rubio had 12 percent of the Republican support and one-time Trump challenger Dr. Ben Carson had dropped to 10 percent.
Although 53 percent of all voters questioned said Trump doesn’t have a good chance of winning in November, 70 percent of Republicans felt has a good chance.
Clinton’s comfortable lead in most polls was also evident in her 61 percent to 30 percent lead over Sanders.
The poll questioned 1,140 registered voters from Dec. 16 through Sunday, a period that included a Republican debate and a Democratic debate, each of which was televised nationwide. Among all of those questioned, the poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points. But among the 508 Republicans polled and among the 462 Democrats questioned, the poll had a margin of error greater than 4 percentage points.
Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.
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