President Trump is more popular than failed presidential candidate Sen. Mitt Romney in the state of Utah, according to a recent poll.
A UtahPolicy.com survey released this week found that for the first time since his election, a majority of Utah voters approve of the president’s job performance–with 52% of likely voters approving of President Trump, while 45% disapprove.
The survey, notes UtahPolicy.com, “was conducted during the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump, but after the drone strike that killed Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani, one of that country’s top military commanders.”
The Washington Examiner’s Paul Bedard points out that a poll for UtahPolicy.com conducted in October found that Romney’s approval rating in Utah was underwater–with 46 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” approving and 51 percent “strongly or somewhat” disapproving.
Bedard notes:
Significantly, Trump’s approval rating is high among Mormons, said the survey.
“Trump does get strong job approval ratings among Mormon and other religious voters in Utah. 59% of ‘very active’ LDS Church members, 64% of somewhat active Mormons approve of how he’s handling his duties in the White House while 52% of inactive Mormons disapprove,” it said.
The poll is significant in light of Romney’s vote yesterday to impeach President Trump, which made him the only Republican in both the House and Senate to do so.
His decision was slammed by conservatives, with many, including Donald Trump Jr., calling for him to be expelled from the Republican Party.
“Mitt Romney is forever bitter that he will never be POTUS. He was too weak to beat the Democrats then so he’s joining them now. He’s now officially a member of the resistance & should be expelled from the @GOP,” Trump Jr. wrote on Twitter.
Mitt Romney is forever bitter that he will never be POTUS. He was too weak to beat the Democrats then so he’s joining them now.
He’s now officially a member of the resistance & should be expelled from the @GOP.
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) February 5, 2020
Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk tweeted, “Did you know: Mitt Romney will be the only Senator in US history to vote to convict a president in his own party He should be ashamed of himself RT if the GOP should move to expel him from the Republican Party.”
Did you know:
Mitt Romney will be the only Senator in US history to vote to convict a president in his own party
He should be ashamed of himself
RT if the GOP should move to expel him from the Republican Party
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) February 5, 2020
Yesterday, Romney announced his plan to vote to convict the President during a speech on the Senate floor.
“The grave question the Constitution tasks senators to answer is whether the president committed an act so extreme and egregious that it rises to the level of a ‘high crime and misdemeanor,’” Romney said. “Yes, he did,” the Senator continued.
President Trump responded to Romney’s vote, writing on Twitter, “Had failed presidential candidate @MittRomney devoted the same energy and anger to defeating a faltering Barack Obama as he sanctimoniously does to me, he could have won the election. Read the Transcripts!”
Had failed presidential candidate @MittRomney devoted the same energy and anger to defeating a faltering Barack Obama as he sanctimoniously does to me, he could have won the election. Read the Transcripts!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 6, 2020
A Morning Consult poll in January found Republican support for Romney in Utah slipped after the senator announced he wished to hear from witnesses in the president’s impeachment trial.
“The poll shows the senator’s approval rating falling among Utah Republicans from September through December 2019, and independents also shifted to disapproving of Romney over the quarter,” writes the Washington Examiner’s Kerry Picket. “In the prior quarter, 65% of Utah Republicans supported Romney, and while a majority still do presently, that number sank to 57%.”
