- Trump's former pollster has found five main factions in the present day GOP.
- "We found that there are clear and distinct 'tribes' of Trump supporters within the GOP," he said.
- They include "Trump Boosters," "Die-hard Trumpers," and a "Never Trump" minority.
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As more Republicans declare their candidacy for upcoming Congressional primaries, campaigns are beginning to navigate the landscape of the post-Trump GOP.
Even though the former president oversaw historically bad losses for his party in just four years, the Republican Party is much more in his image now than it was when he first ran for president, Trump's former pollster found in a new survey.
Fabrizio and Lee, a polling firm that did work for Trump in the 2020 campaign, quizzed 1,264 Republicans in a nationwide survey that found "clear and distinct 'tribes' of Trump supporters within the G.O.P. and, not surprisingly, a small Never Trump group."
Trump "still wields tremendous influence over the party, yet it is not universal or homogeneous," the authors of the survey wrote in the introductory.
The firm looked into these five factions following Trump leaving office:
- "Trump Boosters"
- "Die-hard Trumpers"
- "Post-Trump GOP"
- "Never Trump"
- "Infowars GOP"
Trump's approval rating among those surveyed came in at 88%, while 57% said they would back him again if he runs for president in 2024.
The "Die-hard Trumpers" made up 27%, with their defining feature being an unflinching loyalty to Trump without believing in or supporting QAnon conspiracy theories.
Read more: How the GOP learned to love QAnon
"Trump boosters" composed 28% of the cohort, indicating they liked Trump's performance as president, but would prefer he not run again in 2024 and generally consider themselves more loyal to the GOP than Trump himself.
The "Never Trump" faction only made up for 15% of those polled, while the "Post-Trump GOP" was not much bigger at 20% and only differentiated itself as wanting someone other than Trump to be the next nominee while still liking the former president.
"Infowars" GOP was the smallest at 10%, but showed solidarity in their belief in QAnon.
While just 13% of the audience overal said they believe in those conspiracy theories, 69% of the Infowars tribe said they do, hence the moniker in homage to the extremist website owned by Alex Jones.
