Despite former President Donald Trump’s decision to skip the first GOP debate of the 2024 election season, his support among Republican primary voters remains steadfast. This is according to a new Morning Consult poll released on August 25, 2023, which shows that Trump’s popularity is undeterred by his conspicuous absence from the debate stage.
Instead of participating in the debate, Trump chose to engage in an exclusive interview with Tucker Carlson, a decision that was seen as a significant snub to the Republican National Committee and Fox News. However, this move has not shaken his base’s confidence. The poll indicates that even when informed of his plans to skip the debate, a majority of primary voters and Trump supporters expressed that they still stand firmly behind him.
The poll of 1,256 potential Republican primary voters shows that 58 percent now prefer Trump. In a distant second place remains DeSantis at 14 percent, but rapidly approaching DeSantis is Ramaswamy at 11 percent.
Support for Trump and DeSantis was unchanged by the debate, but Ramaswamy picked up an additional percentage point of support.
Trump’s interview on Carlson’s “Tucker on X” program has been seen by more than 250 million users, though the watch time for the video is not disclosed by X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Ep. 19 Debate Night with Donald J Trump pic.twitter.com/ayPfII48CO
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) August 24, 2023
The debate, which saw eight GOP presidential candidates face off in Wisconsin, drew nearly 13 million viewers according to Fox News. While this viewership was significantly less than the 24 million who tuned into the first GOP primary debate back in August 2015 during Trump’s initial run for the White House, it nonetheless marked a substantial audience.
However, it did not seem beneficial for other candidates, according to the poll.
Support for former vice president Mike Pence remains frozen at 6 percent, as does support for former ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and U.S. Senator Tim Scott, who retain 3 percent of support.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, like Ramaswamy, increased his support by 1 percent.
Many consider businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis the winners of the Fox News debate.
Meanwhile, Trump’s interview with Tucker Carlson, which he claimed exceeded Super Bowl viewership, sparked conversations about the potential of alternative media platforms. While there’s no reliable way of verifying the viewership claim, it’s clear that Trump’s decision to opt for a one-on-one interview over a multi-candidate debate didn’t negatively impact his standing among supporters.
After being arrested, Trump posted to Truth Social and rejoined X make his first post since being banned in 2021. He shared his mugshot.
