Republican Trust in Donald Trump’s Medical Advice Plunges 9 Points Since April — But It’s Still Really High

Republican voters’ trust in former President Donald Trump’s medical advice has dropped 9 points since April — but the percentage who still trust Trump’s medical advice remains shockingly high.

An April The Economist/YouGov poll asked respondents “How much do you trust medical advice from each of the following officials?”

Trump was by far the least trusted among all respondents to that poll at just 29 percent, including 6 percent of Democrats and 29 percent of Independents. But among Republicans, a whopping 66 percent said they trust Trump “a lot” or “somewhat” for medical advice.

But the most recent The Economist/YouGov poll shows that the percentage of Republicans who say they trust Trump “a lot” or “somewhat” for medical advice has dropped 9 points.

But that still leaves a whopping 57 percent of Republicans who say they trust Trump “a lot” or “somewhat” for medical advice, versus just 31 percent of all respondents who say the same, and 8 percent of Democrats.

The most trusted source for medical advice among the choices given remains the respondents’ own personal physician at around 70 percent regardless of party affiliation.

President Joe Biden’s team has cited this dynamic as a reason to focus on “trusted local messengers” to combat vaccine hesitancy, rather than celebrities like Trump or Meghan McCain.

Trump’s repeated — if poorly-promoted — endorsements of the coronavirus vaccine have had little effect on Republicans who are unwilling to be vaccinated. In this latest poll, 21 percent of Republicans say they will not get vaccinated, with another 13 percent saying they aren’t sure.

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