Poll: Most Republicans Do Not Believe Biden Was Legitimately Elected
About two-thirds of Republicans say Joe Biden was not legitimately elected president, according to a new poll conducted weeks after he was inaugurated.
The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows 33 percent of Republicans say Biden was legitimately elected, while 65 percent say he was not.
Overall, roughly two-thirds of Americans say Biden was legitimately elected; nearly all Democrats say so.
Former President Donald Trump and his allies disputed the outcome of the 2020 election, claiming that it was stolen and that there was fraudulent voting in pivotal states. Courts dismissed those allegations in lawsuits.
Among the findings of the survey, conducted Jan. 28-Feb. 1:
— Trump, the only president to have been impeached twice, faces a Senate trial this week on charges of incitement of insurrection. The new AP-NORC poll shows about half of Americans say the Senate should convict Trump, while 4 in 10 say the Senate should not and about 1 in 10 aren’t sure. But nearly two-thirds of Americans believe Trump bears at least some responsibility for the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
— About 1 in 10 Republicans think the Senate should convict Trump, though somewhat more, about 3 in 10, hold Trump at least partially responsible for the Capitol incursion. Most Republicans, about three-quarters, say Trump was a good or great president.
— About three-quarters of Republicans say they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job. Roughly two-thirds of Republicans lack confidence in Biden’s ability to effectively manage the White House, and about that many say they don’t have confidence in him to handle the economy. About half are skeptical of his ability to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
— About two-thirds of Americans have an unfavorable view of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell; about 2 in 10 see him favorably, and close to as many don’t know enough to say. The percentage of Americans saying they have an unfavorable view of McConnell increased since February 2020, when about 4 in 10 said they had a negative opinion. Among Republicans, about half have a negative opinion, up from about a quarter a year ago.
–House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is much less known than his leadership counterparts, with close to half of Americans saying they don’t know enough about him to give an opinion. Among Republicans, 3 in 10 say they have a favorable opinion, and about that many have an unfavorable opinion.
— About three-quarters of Republicans say they have a favorable view of Trump.
The AP-NORC poll of 1,055 adults was conducted Jan. 28-Feb. 1. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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