I argued last week that anecdotal stories about disillusioned Trump supporters were overdone. The fact is that, on a broad scale, Trump supporters say they aren't disappointed. In fact, a poll showed they were more pleased than disappointed, by about 5 to 1:
"...The Pew Research Center released a poll showing very little buyer's remorse among Trump voters. The poll showed just 7 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say Trump has performed worse than they expected him to. Fully 38 percent - five times as many - say he has performed better."
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll confirms this - in spades. And, in fact, it shows more buyer's remorse for Trump's opponent in the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton. And were the 2016 election held again today, it shows Trump would avenge his popular-vote loss.
While just 4 percent of Trump's supporters say they would back someone else if there was a redo of the election, fully 15 percent of Clinton supporters say they would ditch her. Trump leads in a re-do of the 2016 election 43 percent to 40 percent after losing the popular vote 46-44.
That 15 percent is split between those who say they would vote for Trump (2 percent), Gary Johnson (4 percent), Jill Stein (2 percent), and either other candidates or not vote (7 percent).
It's not hugely surprising that the losing candidate in an election would see this kind of drop-off. People don't like voting for losers, and if you look closely at polls after an election, some voters won't even admit to having cast their ballots for the losing candidate. The winning margin for the victor is generally exaggerated.
But against the backdrop of stories about how Trump hasn't delivered what his supporters thought he would, it's notable how much his backers are sticking by their candidate, relative to his opponent. There is basically no real defection to the one candidate who could have delivered a different result.
Of course, you can still be disappointed in Trump and not say you wish you had voted differently. But this poll also reinforces the idea that Trump supporters aren't even disappointed. Not in the least, in fact.
Just 2 percent of those who voted for Trump say he has been a worse president than they expected. Only 1 percent say he has been "much worse," and 1 percent say he has been "somewhat worse."
In contrast, 62 percent say he has been better than expected, with one-third (33 percent) saying he has been "much better."
That's not disillusioned Trump supporters; that's quite the opposite. And we have yet to see a poll that suggests there are a bunch of disgruntled Trump voters out there, stewing over their decision to install a reality show star as president.
Previously:
• 04/19/17 The myth of the disillusioned Trump voter
• 03/28/17 Trump's first 100 days: A big failure, and a new low in the polls
• 03/15/17 Turns out Trump didn't avoid income taxes for 18 years, after all
• 02/16/17 Can Dems get used to all the losing that lies ahead?
• 02/13/17 Why Dems can't just obstruct their way back into power
• 01/31/17 The GOP pols deserting Trump --- and those who remain loyal
• 12/26/16 Hillary's senatorial replacement has voted against almost all of Trump's nominees. 2020, anyone?
• 12/19/16 Fret not GOPers: Why Trump will not fail electoral college
• 12/05/16 How Pence, once damaged political goods, has a very good chance to chart his own political future
• 11/15/16 6 issues that could pit Donald Trump vs. the GOP Congress
• 10/05/16 Mike Pence's debate wasn't quite as great for Trump 2016 as it was for Pence 2020
• 09/12/16 Did Hillary Clinton just make her own '47 percent' gaffe?
• 09/01/16 A record number of Americans now dislike Hillary Clinton
• 08/15/16 If Donald Trump wins in 2016, remember this one poll number
• 07/19/16 4 brutal poll numbers greet Clinton at convention
• 07/19/16 The continuing political decline of Hillary Clinton
• 07/11/16 In bashing Donald Trump, some say Justice Ginsburg just crossed an important line
• 07/06/16 'Extremely careless,' and 7 other big quotes from the FBI's findings on Clinton's emails
• 06/20/16 How the Orlando attack showed the potential of an October Surprise
• 05/06/16 Donald Trump's day of many contradictions
• 03/10/16 How Donald Trump can still be stopped, according to the folks in charge of doing it
• 03/07/16 Winners and losers from 'Super Saturday'
• 03/03/16 Colbert nails it --- Christie looked like 'the best man at a wedding he didn't believe in'
• 02/10/16 Don't assume Hillary will start winning again after New Hampshire
• 02/08/16 Winners and losers from the New Hampshire Republican debate