Majority Of Trump Voters Think He 'Rightfully Won' A Second Term, Poll Shows

A new Reuters poll indicated that more than half of Donald Trump voters think he “rightfully won” the 2020 presidential election.

The results accompany falling confidence in U.S. elections and a steady drumbeat of accusations from Trump that the election was stolen from him. Republicans have repeatedly failed to produce any evidence of fraud in court but the polling numbers alone shot the phrase “half of Republicans” up the trending tab on Twitter.

Reuters asked respondents a range of questions about their views on the presidential election and its results. Reuters performed a similar survey after Trump’s 2016 victory, giving it a cross-section of responses across the political spectrum and the last four years to compare.

Overall, 73% of respondents thought Joe Biden had won the election, with only 5% saying Trump had won. When the question instead asked whether Biden had “rightfully won,” Republicans demonstrated greater skepticism of his victory. Only 29% said Biden had rightfully won, with 53% saying instead that Trump should have taken the rightful victory.

Republicans were also disproportionately likely to have concerns that state vote counters had altered results, with 68% worried the election was “rigged.” Only 16% of Democrats and 33% of independents shared those concerns.

Overall confidence in elections had also fallen over the last four years, with the number of respondents saying it’s “legitimate and accurate” down seven points to barely over half, 55%. Democrats four years ago were twice as likely to say Hillary Clinton’s loss was legitimate, at 52%.

It’s not hard to pinpoint the source of these disparities: Trump and his surrogates have spread a wide variety of theories, all equally unsupported by evidence, that the election was stolen from him. These have manifested as extensive court challenges, although the lawsuits have universally failed to provide any supporting evidence under oath and been kicked out in droves. The Trump campaign recently withdrew several vital suits, indicating falling confidence in the courts as a path to victory.

The polls generated alarm and no small amount of ridicule on social media, boosting the phrase “half of Republicans" up the trending list on Twitter.

Still, a surprising number hailed the news as positive, saying the number could have been much higher given Trump’s approval rating among Republicans and constant pushing of fraud narratives.