By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
A new Rasmussen poll, taken prior to the weekend’s apparent second assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, reveals more people think he represents “a fresh start and a new direction” while Vice President Kamala Harris is “offering more of the same” in this year’s presidential election.
Rasmussen’s survey was released Monday, noting, “73% of Likely U.S. Voters say, when considering the general conditions in the country, America needs a fresh start and a new direction. Just 20% feel the country needs more of the same.”
The survey results come as a major investigation into the alleged attempted assassination of the former president unfolds in Florida. Authorities there have charged Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, according to NPR News.
A Secret Service agent working Trump’s International Golf Club West Palm Beach reportedly spotted a rifle projecting through a fence and opened fire. The suspect fled but was apprehended a short time later.
According to CBS News, the suspect has a “decades-long criminal history” with problems dating back to the 1990s when he resided in North Carolina. Investigators have recovered an SKS-type rifle chambered for the 7.62×39 cartridge.
Against this drama, the Rasmussen poll has some added significance. Thirty-seven percent believe Harris offers a fresh start while 58 percent say she’s “more of the same” following four years of the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris administration.
Conversely, 52 percent say Trump offers a fresh start and new direction while 39 percent say they expect more of the same.
Breaking things down, 77 percent of Republicans, 36 percent of Democrats and 62 percent of Independents say Harris “offers more of the same.” Overall, 74 percent believe Trump is the fellow offering a new direction.
By no surprise, 84 percent of Republicans and 76 percent of Independents believe the country needs a fresh start, while only 60 percent of Democrats say the nation needs to shift direction.
In a separate poll, Rasmussen revealed that only 35 percent of likely voters think the country is headed in the right direction. Sixty percent (60%) of voters believe the nation is headed down the wrong track, down one point from a week ago, Rasmussen said.
How this figures into the presidential campaign may ultimately be insignificant, or it might be a clear signal the nation needs to shift gears after Biden-Harris.
And, news of the apparent would-be attempt on the former president—the second so far this year—may help him dominate the spotlight once again. After he narrowly escaped death at the hands of a sniper in Pennsylvania two months ago, many Americans seem more inclined to support him.
