WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump, the first modern president to face impeachment during his first term in the White House, now leads his top Democratic rivals in his bid for a second, a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll finds.
The national survey, taken as the House of Representatives planned an impeachment vote and the Senate a trial, showed Trump defeating former Vice President Joe Biden by 3 percentage points, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders by 5 points, and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren by 8 points.
In hypothetical head-to-head contests, Trump also led South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg by 10 points and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg by 9.
Polls taken nearly a year before an election are hardly a reliable indicator about what the eventual outcome will be, especially when the other nominee hasn’t been chosen. But the findings do indicate that impeachment hearings detailing what critics see as Trump’s violations of the Constitution and his oath of office haven’t undermined his core political support.
Analysis:Paleologos on the Poll: Could a 3rd party candidate determine the election? Maybe
The poll of 1,000 registered voters, taken Dec. 10-14 by landline and cellphone, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
“Why waste the time going through all the stuff we’re going through now?” asked Jason Mayo, 42, a truck driver and reliable Republican voter from Greenville, North Carolina, who was among those surveyed.
He predicted Trump would defeat impeachment “hands down” and then win re-election. “My 401(k) is doing better than it’s ever done,” Mayo said. “That’s the truth.”
Bamsterman