Trump splits supporters with decision not to appear at GOP primary debates: Poll

A slight majority of former President Donald Trump‘s supporters disagree with his decision to not appear at either primary debate so far, according to a new poll.

The Messenger/Harris poll was taken between Sept. 28 and 29, after the second Republican primary debate hosted by the Republican National Committee and Fox News. Trump was a no-show, which 51% of his supporters did not approve of, while 49% said it was the right decision. Out of those polled, 43% of respondents said they were more likely to vote for Trump after the debate.

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When compared to a poll taken a week before the second GOP debate, support for Trump remained unchanged at 56%. Meanwhile, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) decreased in support from 14% to 11%. However, DeSantis was declared the winner of the debate by 20% of Republican respondents. When the results of all Republican, Democratic, and independent respondents were considered, Nikki Haley was the winner with a plurality of 12%.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie had the worst performance according to 15% of all respondents. Christie had been declared the worst by nearly a quarter of Republican candidates. During the debate, Christie attacked Trump for again not appearing at the debate and dubbed him Donald Duck.

Only 14% of respondents reported they watched the entire debate. Another 36% reported that they did not know or hear about the debate. Viewership was at nine million on Wednesday, according to Nielsen ratings. This was a full four million fewer than the 13 million who watched the first debate.

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DeSantis, Haley, and Christie were joined on the debate stage by former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), and Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND). There are currently 13 candidates vying for the Republican presidential nomination. Former governor of Arkansas Asa Hutchinson did not qualify for the second debate despite appearing for the first one.

This poll’s margin of error was plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.