MaddowBlog-New poll points to Trump voters' tolerance for authoritarian approach to the rule of law

[LetMyPeopleVote]

In 2023, nearly a third of Trump voters endorsed having a president “willing to break some rules and laws to set things right.” The number is higher now.

In 2023, nearly a third of Trump voters endorsed having a president “willing to break some rules and laws to set things right.”

In 2025, the number has gone up.

David Souter’s 2012 comments on how democracies die remain relevant for a reason. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-09-15T16:17:07.125Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/new-poll-points-trump-voters-tolerance-authoritarian-approach-rule-law-rcna231337

The latest national Fox News poll included a question that hasn’t traditionally been asked in the United States, but which is of increasing importance. It read:

Some people say things in the U.S. are so far off track that we need a president willing to break some rules and laws to set things right, while others say the president should always follow the rules and laws — which comes closest to your view?

Not surprisingly, voters on the left weren’t exactly eager to endorse indifference to the rule of law: 11% of Democratic voters and an identical number of voters who describe themselves as liberals said presidents should follow the laws.

But on the right, it was a different story: 36% of Republican voters, 38% of voters who backed Donald Trump and 40% of “very conservative” voters all expressed support for a president “willing to break some rules and laws to set things right.”

And while these results were discouraging, the resulting image looks even worse when one compares the responses to a Fox News poll conducted in December 2023, which included the identical question. At the time, 28% of Republican voters, 30% of Trump voters and 29% of those who described themselves as “very conservative” endorsed a lawless president.

In other words, after Trump returned to the presidency, GOP support for authoritarianism got noticeably worse......

There’s been a lot of discussion of late about Trump’s hostility to democracy and his embrace of an authoritarian vision. What’s less appreciated is how warmly rank-and-file Republican voters have embraced related attitudes.