Trump support tumbles

Gallup: Trump support tumbles after conventions

By Nolan D. McCaskill

In the wake of the Republican and Democratic national conventions, voters are more likely to support Hillary Clinton than Donald Trump, according to a Gallup poll released Monday.

While 36 percent of adults are more likely to support Trump coming out of the GOP’s four-day event, 51 percent are less likely to vote for the real estate mogul afterit. The minus-15 net rating is the worst mark for the Republican nominee coming out of the party’s convention since Gallup began asking the question in 1984, though the 1984 and 1992 GOP conventions were excluded.

Last month’s Republican convention, however, is the only time respondents were overall less likely to vote for the candidate who was nominated. Previous lows for the Republican nominee were plus-2 with Mitt Romney in 2012 and plus-3 with President George W. Bush in 2004.

The convention has also shaped the views of the Republican Party. Fifty-two percent of those surveyed said they have a less favorable view of the GOP now, while 35 percent see the party more favorably.

After the Democratic convention, 45 percent of adults said they were more likely to back Clinton, though 41 percent said they’re now less likely to do so. While the percentage of respondents more inclined to vote for Clinton coming out of the convention is on par for Democratic nominees over the past two decades, the 41 percent who are less likely to vote for Clinton represents the highest mark since 1984.

Respondents were split on how the convention affected their overall view of the Democratic Party: Forty-four percent have a more favorable opinion of the party, while 42 percent see it less favorably.

Along party lines, 81 percent of Democrats and those who lean Democratic — and 8 percent of Republicans and GOP leaners — said they were more likely to back Clinton after the Democratic convention. But only 73 percent of Republicans and leaners — and just 2 percent of Democrats — are more likely to vote for Trump coming out of the Republican convention.

Trump thanked “everyone for the wonderful reviews” of his speech and slammed Clinton’s “very long and very boring speech.” But Gallup’s results suggest the billionaire’s remarks were the worst-received in the past 20 years.

The response to Trump’s acceptance speech yielded similar results on opposite ends of the spectrum. While 18 percent said his speech was just OK, 35 percent thought it was excellent or good — the lowest percentage since ’96 — and 36 percent thought it was poor or terrible — the highest percentage since '96.

Forty-four percent of respondents said Clinton’s speech accepting her historic nomination was excellent or good. Two-in-10 said it was poor or terrible, and 17 percent thought it was just OK.

The Gallup poll of 1,000 adults was conducted July 23-24 and July 29-30, immediately after each convention, via landlines and cellphones. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.