Former President Donald Trump's poll numbers have "exploded" to 61% to 31% over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the "Republican base has totally reacted and been polarized" by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's push for an indictment against Trump, pollster John McLaughlin told Newsmax on Sunday.
"When you look at Donald Trump one on one against DeSantis, he was leading in January, but only 52% to 41%. Now it's exploded to 61% to 31%," McLaughlin said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "What you've got is a situation where the only crime that Donald Trump committed is he's ahead in the polls. He's leading Joe Biden in this poll among 1,000 likely voters across the country 48% to 43%. We never saw that in 2016. We were always close in the battleground states."
But Trump has been leading Biden in the polls for over a year after the surrender in Afghanistan, and even though DeSantis, who has not declared a presidential campaign yet, is "saying I'm the best one who can win the election, that's not true," said McLaughlin, who has served as a Trump campaign pollster.
Meanwhile, when asked why DeSantis hasn't officially declared a campaign, McLaughlin said he would not know what the governor is thinking right now, "but if he's looking at good polling it's a very tough race, and he's splitting his base."
He added that the Biden White House "needs the diversion" of the Trump grand jury because Biden and his family have "been exposed" for their actions with China.
Biden's current favorability ratings are also now at just 38%, and his major problem at this time is the economy, said McLaughlin.
"Certainly, the border is a mess and crime's a mess, but right now, most voters, 67% to 26% think the economy is getting worse, not better," he said. "[Another] 65% say the country's on the wrong track, 85% say they have been negatively impacted by inflation…so Joe Biden, if he can't fix the economy and he gets a primary opponent, he will get beaten. But we're looking forward to running against him."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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