(The caricature of Donald Trump above is by DonkeyHotey.)It seems that a significant percentage of Americans believe Donald Trump would abuse his presidential powers if elected. And it's not just Democrats. Many Independents and Republicans also believe that.
The answers posted below are from a Lincoln Leadership Initiative / SurveyMonkey Poll that was done between September 16th and 21st of a random national sample of 1,051 registered voters, with a 4 point margin of error.
Among the survey findings, respondents said if Trump is elected president there would be a:
- 46 percent chance that Trump would authorize the use of a nuclear device against ISIS or another foreign enemy;
- 54 percent chance the U.S. government would default on its debt;
- 65 percent chance Trump would use the powers of his office against a political opponent;
- 54 percent chance Trump would create a database to track all Muslims in the U.S.;
- 53 percent chance Trump would order the military to target the families of terrorists;
- 44 percent chance Trump would authorize internment camps for illegal immigrants; and
- 65 percent chance there would be race riots in major U.S. cities.
Trump supporters shared many of those same concerns, with his supporters predicting a:
- 22 percent chance that Trump would authorize the use of a nuclear weapon;
- 33 percent chance the U.S. government would default on its debt;
- 32 percent chance Trump would use the powers of his office against a political opponent;
- 48 percent chance Trump would create a database to track all Muslims in the U.S.;
- 29 percent chance Trump would order the military to target the families of terrorists;
- 32 percent chance Trump would authorize internment camps for illegal immigrants; and
- 36 percent chance there would be race riots in major U.S. cities.
