Republicans Believe Wacky Conspiracy Theory Trump Will Be ‘Reinstated’ As President This Year, Poll Shows
While most Americans dismiss the possibility, a significant chunk of Republicans believe the conspiracy theory buoyed by some of Donald Trump’s allies (and reportedly believed by the former president himself) that he’ll be back in the White House by the end of the year, a poll published Wednesday suggests.
The Politico/Morning Consult survey of 1,990 registered voters found respondents were broadly dismissive of the notion Trump could be “reinstated” as president.
A decisive majority (72%) across the political spectrum deemed it “not very likely” or “not likely at all” Trump will have his old job by the end of the year.
However, self-identified Republicans were less quick to dismiss the conspiracy theory.
While 61% of GOP respondents labeled Trump’s return unlikely, some 29% said they believe he will be made president again.
This compares to 84% of the Democrats surveyed who said Trump won’t be reinstated and 13% who said he will be.
All in all, 19% of the people surveyed for the poll said it was either “somewhat likely” or “very likely” Trump will be reinstated as president this year.
The conspiracy theory Trump will be reinstated as president, which has become popular among QAnon believers, stems from the false claims still being pushed by some Republicans that the 2020 election was rigged. Trump has reportedly become fixated with the ongoing GOP-commissioned election audit in Arizona and is pushing for similar ballot reviews across the country, telling allies (though daughter-in-law Lara Trump has since denied this) the success of the recounts could result in his return to the White House this year. Of course, election officials across the country have maintained that last year’s presidential election was one of the safest in history and have denied the possibility it was marred by widespread fraud.
As Forbes has previously reported, some of Trump’s more outlandish supporters and allies have advocated for antidemocratic maneuvers to seize control of the White House. Trump’s former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn called for a Myanmar-style military coup at a QAnon conference late last month (he has since walked back the comments).
