Three in five (59%) UK adults believe a second term of President Trump would be a negative outcome, according to new polling from Savanta.
Ahead of the Republican New Hampshire primary election results, where Donald Trump is widely expected to defeat his main challenger, Nikki Haley, the results show widespread concern among the UK public about the former President and his suitability for office.
Just under three quarters of the UK public (72%) describe the former President as ‘irresponsible’, while 68% say he is ‘dishonest’. Two thirds (64%) believe he is ‘incompetent’.
The results also include a warning to Conservative MPs of the potential political risks of supporting Trump’s candidacy, with 2019 Conservative voters sharing the wider public’s antipathy to the former President.
Three in five (60%) Conservative voters at the last general election feel negatively about Trump’s potential victory in November’s Presidential election, with 71% labelling him as ‘dishonest’.
Chris Hopkins, Political Research Director at Savanta said, “With Trump looking to dominate the Republican primaries and continuing to lead in the polls, the UK public are beginning to come to terms with the fact the world may be in for a Trump second term, and they are not happy about it.”
“UK politicians, and in particular Conservative MPs, should take note of these results which show that even their core voters believe Trump is highly unsuited to high office. It looks increasingly likely the US and UK elections will dovetail, and this will be fraught with risks for all UK political leaders – in particular prospective leadership candidates for whichever party is out of government in the UK.”
The US Presidential election in November is likely to overlap with a UK General Election campaign, with Prime Minister Sunak suggesting an election will take place in the “second half of the year”.
Conservative MPs Jacob Rees-Mogg and Jake Berry have already publicly supported former President Trump. Reform UK’s Nigel Farage is a long-time supporter, and will likely continue to campaign for Trump, even as he contemplates his own political future in the UK.
