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The topline results from the latest CBS News/YouGov poll offered plenty of good news to Donald Trump: The survey found the former president leading the Republican presidential field with 62% support. His next closest competitor, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, was a distant second with 16%.
But the topline numbers only told part of a larger story. The CBS News/YouGov poll also asked GOP voters about what they’re looking for in a candidate. For those who prioritize a candidate being “honest and trustworthy,” Trump again dominated with 61%, followed by DeSantis at 17%.
Given that the former president is among the most prolific liars in modern history, this seemed difficult to accept, but it nevertheless helped pave the way for the piece de resistance:
More generally, Trump’s voters hold him as a source of true information, even more so than other sources, including conservative media figures, religious leaders, and even their own friends and family.
Yes, as far as Trump voters are concerned, 71% said they believe that what the Republican tells them is true. Meanwhile, 63% said the same thing about their friends and family members, 56% trust what they hear from conservative media figures, and 42% feel what religious leaders say is true.
In my own experiences interacting with Republican voters, I’ve heard some acknowledge Trump’s breathtaking dishonesty, but they excuse it by saying, “All politicians lie.” It’s a disappointing rejoinder, to be sure, but I recognize it as a relatively coherent rationalization: For these GOP voters, there’s no denying the former president’s dishonesty, but they’ve come up with a way to justify their willingness to support him anyway.
What the CBS News/YouGov poll highlights is a qualitatively different dynamic: Trump voters aren’t just willing to overlook the Republican’s staggering truth allergy, they choose to believe that the former president’s lies simply don’t exist. Indeed, these voters not only trust him, they see him as even more reliable than their own friends and family members.
To be sure, we’re talking about Trump voters, and not the entirety of the GOP electorate. When we widen the aperture a bit, the CBS News/YouGov poll found that a narrower 53% majority sees the former president as a reliable source for accurate information.
But given Trump’s record for duplicity, what does it say about the state of the party that most GOP voters — including those who support rival Republican candidates — are still inclined to trust his word?