New PRRI data from June 2023 finds that former President Donald Trump maintains his majority approval ratings among Republican base groups. Trump currently faces his strongest competition in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, but DeSantis’s ratings among key Republican groups have declined compared to March of this year. The favorability ratings of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley have only shifted modestly since March, and only half of Republicans are familiar enough with Senator Tim Scott to rate him.
Around 4 in 10 Americans (43%) hold favorable views of President Joe Biden. In comparison, Americans are even less likely to favorably rate the four Republican candidates included in the survey. Trump’s favorability rating of 32% favorable gives him an advantage over DeSantis (27% favorable), Haley (21% favorable), and Scott (22% favorable).
Assessments of the Presidential Frontrunners
Joe Biden
Just over 4 in 10 Americans (43%) hold favorable views of Biden, while a slim majority (53%) hold unfavorable views. In 2021, majorities of Americans held favorable views of Biden, before slipping to around 4 in 10 in late 2022 through the present. Currently, Biden’s net favorability stands at -10 points, somewhat worse than in March (-5 points).
Democrats are about as likely to rate Biden favorably now (81%) as they were in March (85%), however, just over one-third of Democrats hold a very favorable view of Biden (34%), similar to March (36%). Around 4 in 10 independents have favorable views of Biden (39%), similar to March (42%). Just under 1 in 10 Republicans (7%) have favorable views of Biden, unchanged from March (7%).
Donald Trump
Just under one-third of Americans express favorable views of Trump (32%), while two-thirds (66%) express unfavorable views. These ratings are some of the lowest that Trump has received since his presidential campaign in 2015 and 2016. Trump’s current net favorability rating of -34 points indicates that his ratings have been slowly declining from a net -26 points in September 2021.
Republicans continue to hold broadly positive views of Trump: 41% rate him very favorably, and 27% rate him somewhat favorably, for a net +37 favorability. This is a decrease from March, when Trump’s net rating was +46.
Ron DeSantis
About 1 in 4 Americans express favorable views of Ron DeSantis (27%), while a majority express an unfavorable view of him (55%) for a net -28 favorability. Unfavorable views of DeSantis have increased by double-digits since March (up from 46%).
Republicans are less likely to express positive views of DeSantis now (62%), compared to March of this year (66%), roughly similar to his ratings in September 2022 (59%). Since March, we have seen a decline in DeSantis’s net favorability among Republicans from +50 to +38. Independent Americans are broadly unfavorable toward DeSantis: 28% express a favorable view, while 57% express an unfavorable view of him.
Nikki Haley
Americans have not shifted significantly in their views of Nikki Haley between March and now . Currently, 21% of Americans have a favorable view of Haley, while 38% hold unfavorable views for a net -17 favorability, slightly worse than the net -11 in March.
Republicans have not shifted meaningfully in their views of Haley compared to March: 40% hold a favorable view (similar to 43% in March), while 20% hold an unfavorable view of Haley (similar to 17% in March) for a net +20 favorability.
Tim Scott
South Carolina Senator Tim Scott launched his campaign for the Republican nomination in late May. Currently 22% of Americans hold favorable views of Scott, while 25% hold an unfavorable view of him for a net -3 favorability. A slim majority of Americans (53%) are unable to rate Scott.
Around 4 in 10 Republicans (38%) have favorable views of Scott, while 12% hold unfavorable views for a net +26 favorability. About half of Republicans (51%) can’t rate Scott.
Attitudes Among Key Republican Constituencies
White Evangelical Protestants
Currently, nearly 6 in 10 white evangelical Protestants (59%) hold favorable views of Trump, while 56% hold favorable views of DeSantis. White evangelical Protestants are less likely to have favorable views of Haley (37%) or Scott (34%), though many cannot rate either of these two candidates (39% for Haley, 56% for Scott).
Trump and DeSantis have strong ratings among white evangelical Protestants, however, all three candidates’ net favorability ratings among this group have declined slightly since March (from +26 to +20 for Trump, from +36 to +29 for DeSantis, and from +20 to +14 for Haley).
Fox News and Far-Right Media Viewers
Americans who most trust far-right news sources like One America News (OAN) or Newsmax have overwhelmingly favorable views of Trump: 83% are favorable toward him, while just 15% are unfavorable for a net +68 favorability rating. This group is less likely rate DeSantis (70%), Scott (54%), or Haley (48%) favorably. DeSantis’s net favorability among Americans who most trust far-right news outlets has decreased significantly from +61 in March to +45 currently.
A similar pattern appears among Americans who most trust Fox News. Two-thirds of this group rates Trump favorably (65%), similar to 61% who rate DeSantis favorably. Less than half of Fox News viewers rate Haley (45%) or Scott (44%) favorably. Since March, DeSantis’s net favorability among those who most trust Fox has declined from +57 to +40. Trump’s net rating among those who most trust Fox has also declined from +45 to +34.
Christian Nationalism Adherents
Christian nationalism adherents (as measured by PRRI’s scale of adherence to Christian nationalist beliefs) continue to be strong supporters of Trump. Two-thirds of this group hold a favorable view of Trump (67%), compared to smaller shares who say the same of DeSantis (51%), Scott (37%), or Haley (32%). DeSantis’s net favorability among this group declined from +31 in March to +22 currently, while Trump’s has stayed largely the same (from +39 to +36).
