Poll asks Americans: Should Trump run again?

NEWS AND OPINION:

So will former President Donald Trump run for president again in 2024? The question haunts his rivals, delights his fans and lends a steady stream of story possibilities to the news media.

Now comes a CBS News poll released Tuesday that has queried the public about whether Mr. Trump should hit the campaign trail when the time comes. Among those who favored a repeat run, the network also asked the respondents what motivated them to feel that way.

So should 45 try again in ’24?

The CBS found that just about two-thirds — 65% — of U.S. adults would prefer that Mr. Trump skip another White House campaign.

But wait. The survey also revealed that a notable 35% of the respondents would like Mr. Trump to seek office — and that includes 71% of those who voted for Mr. Trump in 2020 — and even 10% of those who chose then-candidate Joe Biden.

Meanwhile, what motivates those who support Mr. Trump, should he choose to jump in the race?

The poll found that 62% of this group agree he is “the best candidate the Republicans have.” Another 54% think “he would win,” while 51% simply agreed that “I just support him.”

About half — 48% — say Mr. Trump “deserves another chance.” And last but not least, 25% say his entry in the 2024 race “would be entertaining.”

The CBS News poll of 2,578 U.S. adults was conducted Feb. 8-11 and allowed respondents to give multiple reasons to this last question. Check more of the findings in the Poll du Jour at column’s end.

THE NEWS MEDIA’S PARTY TIME

In case anyone wonders, the White House Correspondents Dinner will take place in the nation’s capital on April 30 as a normal, in-person event — staged at the grand Washington Hilton, the event’s traditional home. The annual dinner last took place in 2019, only to be swept up in the great purge associated with the coronavirus pandemic which followed.

White House Correspondents Association President Steven Portnoy recently offered updates to members of the National Press Club in a Zoom get together. Mr. Portnoy, by the way, is White House correspondent for CBS News Radio.

“Fast-changing COVID-19 recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and restrictions placed on indoor events by the District of Columbia government, add an extra layer of scheduling complexity to an event notable for its size and the presence of so many government officials and celebrities,” Mr. Portnoy told his fellow attendees, according to a news release from the club.

It’s complicated.

“COVID-19 restrictions are even more strict at the White House because no one, including credentialed journalists, who has been even close to someone who has tested positive for the virus is allowed to be anywhere close to a Secret Service principal protectee (president, first lady, vice president or second gentleman) for 10 days after potential exposure. This eliminates such a person from serving in the White House press pool rotation, which is governed by WHCA officials,” the release said.

Meanwhile, organizers have revealed that Trevor Noah, the host of “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central, will entertain at the annual dinner, which also raises money for college scholarships.

MAKE WAY FOR CATGENDER

The use of specialized “woke” and socially aware language on university campuses is not limited to U.S. schools. The College Fix — a student-written news organization — has flagged a British example of evolving culture at the University of Bristol.

The school hopes to accommodate students who identify in typical and atypical genders — including those who may identify as a cat. The phenomenon warranted some coverage in the Telegraph, a London-based daily newspaper.

“Lecturers at a leading university are being given guidance on neopronouns, which include emoji labels and catgender where someone identifies as a feline,” the Telegraph said in its coverage.

“The University of Bristol has provided guidance for its staff on ‘using pronouns at work,’ urging them to declare in verbal introductions and email signatures whether they use he/him, she/her or they/them, to support transgender students,” the paper explained.

“But unlike myriad pronoun manuals on other campuses, Bristol lecturers are also directed to neopronouns which include ‘emojiself pronouns’, where colourful digital icons — commonplace on social media — are used to represent gender in written and spoken conversation,” the coverage continued.

“There are pronouns for what are known as ‘xenic’ individuals, those whose gender ‘does not fit within “the Western human binary of gender alignments.”’ One of these is called ‘catgender,’ where a person strongly identifies with cats ‘or other felines’ or ‘may experience delusions relating to being a cat.’ Such individuals may use ‘nya/nyan’ pronouns. The latter is the Japanese word for ‘meow,’” the College Fix summarized in its own analysis.

FOXIFIED

Fox News now marks a solid year of domination over its primary rivals. During the week of Feb. 7-13, Fox News trumped CNN and MSNBC combined for the 52nd week in a row, garnering 2.4 million primetime viewers, compared to MSNBC with 1 million and CNN with 491,000.

Fox News also claimed 81 of the top 100 cable telecasts for the week. This placed the network at No. 1 in the entire cable realm, besting such non-news rivals as USA Network, Hallmark Channel and HGTV.

In addition, “Fox & Friends” drew an average 1.4 million viewers — compared to CNN’s “New Day” with 363,000 viewers and MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” with 763,000.

POLL DU JOUR

• 65% of U.S. adults do not want former President Donald Trump to run for president again in 2024.

• 89% of Democrats, 68% of independents and 31% of Republicans agree.

• 29% of those who voted for Mr. Trump in 2020 and 90% of those who voted for President Biden also agree.

• 35% overall would like Mr. Trump to seek the White House again.

• 11% of Democrats, 32% of independents and 69% of Republicans agree.

• 71% of Trump voters and 10% of Biden voters also agree.

SOURCE: A CBS News poll of 2,578 U.S. adults conducted Feb. 8-11.

• Helpful information to jharper@washingtontimes.com.