How much support does Donald Trump enjoy among Republican voters and senators?

Former US President Donald Trump is reportedly set to announce his political comeback in the 2024 presidential race. However, this time around, Trump faces far more rivals in the Republican nomination, and significantly less support from those who were once his zealous supporters, including Mo Brooks. 

In a conversation with AL.com, Brooks took a sharp u-turn on his thoughts on once-beloved Trump, and said: “It would be a bad mistake for the Republicans to have Donald Trump as their nominee in 2024." “Donald Trump has proven himself to be dishonest, disloyal, incompetent, crude and a lot of other things that alienate so many independents and Republicans. Even a candidate who campaigns from his basement can beat him,” he said. 

The dwindling Republican support comes almost a week after the party failed to bring its “red wave” in the US midterm polls. Furthermore, a mix of the Jan 6 Capitol riot, the midterms, and Trump's constant fixation on talking about the 2020 elections has made him somewhat of a liability in the eyes of the GOP, instead of a stellar figure who could lead the party. 

Does the GOP still want Trump as its leader? 

For some, including Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, Trump has already lost the party’s leadership to a far better successor- Ron DeSantis. “The question is: who is the current leader of the Republican Party? Oh, I know who it is: Ron DeSantis,” she said, referencing the Florida governor’s recent reelection. “Ron DeSantis is the leader of the Republican Party, whether he wants to be or not,” Lummis said, according to Politico. 

Moreover, Trump also seems to have a lack of hold on the general public. In a 2022 national poll, 32% of voters said that they voted to “oppose Joe Biden.” However, 28% said that their vote was to “oppose Donald Trump,” in spite of the erstwhile president not even holding office. The figure signalled that for voters, the 2022 election was still about Trump, and specifically, his continuous impact on the GOP. “It was a Trump problem,” a Republican operative who was a part of the 2022 election told NBC News. “Independents didn’t vote for candidates they viewed as extreme and too closely linked with Donald J. Trump,” the anonymous operative added.