Washington, DC September 23, 2016 Voters believe that a Donald Trump presidency would bring unprecedented risks to the United States, according to a new SurveyMonkey poll of 1,051 registered voters conducted on behalf of the Lincoln Leadership Initiative, a group of former Republican elected officials and staffers. The survey asked respondents to assign a percentage chance from 0 (no chance) to 100 (a certainty) that certain events would take place during a Trump presidency, if he is elected, and the overall results average those scores.
Survey respondents said they believed there was a 46 percent chance that Donald Trump would authorize the use of a nuclear weapon if elected and a 54 percent chance that a Trump presidency would lead to a default on U.S. government debt. Surprisingly, many Trump supporters shared those concerns, assigning a one in five (22 percent) chance of Trump authorizing the use of a nuclear weapon and a one in three (33 percent) chance of a U.S. default on its debt.
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.
