Poll finds Mitt Romney's anti-Trump speech backfired, increased Trump fans' support

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published 8 March 2016

Mitt Romney's pleas to Republican voters last Thursday to ditch Donald Trump did more to boost the Republican frontrunner than curtail his rise, a new poll out Tuesday reveals. The poll by Morning Consult finds that, post-Romney speech, 31 percent of Republican voters are more likely to back Trump — despite Romney's urgings that "the prospects for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished" by a Trump presidency. Only 20 percent of Republican voters said they're less likely to vote for Trump after Romney's speech.

Among those voters who already supported Trump, Romney's efforts backfired even more. Fifty-six percent of Trump supporters said they are now more likely to vote for Trump, with only 5 percent saying they'd be less likely to vote for him after Romney's speech.