Trump's approval rating if he became a dictator?

[IceSpear]

Let's say Trump decided to dissolve Congress and the Supreme Court, and installed himself as dictator. What would his approval rating be?

It's tempting to say option 1, but remember, him dissolving the government would be dismissed as "fake news" by many Trump supporters, and FOX News will spend all their time talking about imaginary Hillary scandals.

I'm saying upper 20s.

[Santander]

Real dictators don't have <50% approval ratings...

[IceSpear]

Real dictators don't have <50% approval ratings...

For the purposes of this poll we'll assume he doesn't (or didn't yet) crack down on the polling companies.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Wouldn't it be around 99%, since people would have an, er, incentive to say they like him?

[Maxwell]

All pollsters would be shutdown except for TRUMP polls, which show consistent 99.9% until Hillary Clinton is executed live, and then that number would move to 100%.

Real dictators don't have <50% approval ratings...

For the purposes of this poll we'll assume he doesn't (or didn't yet) crack down on the polling companies.

that's the first thing he would do, though.

[IceSpear]

All pollsters would be shutdown except for TRUMP polls, which show consistent 99.9% until Hillary Clinton is executed live, and then that number would move to 100%.

Real dictators don't have <50% approval ratings...

For the purposes of this poll we'll assume he doesn't (or didn't yet) crack down on the polling companies.

that's the first thing he would do, though.

He'd probably be a bit more concerned with consolidating power first.

[Dr. MB]

Wouldn't it be around 99%, since people would have an, er, incentive to say they like him?

[HillGoose]

I don't approve of him anyway, he's clearly a Democrat, not a Republican. The only Republican thing he's done has been to tomahawk Syria.

The United States would not exist under a dictator. If elections get canceled and the branches no longer exists, it's no longer the United States, it's something else, something horrible.

[Dr. MB]

I don't approve of him anyway, he's clearly a Democrat, not a Republican. The only Republican thing he's done has been to tomahawk Syria.

The United States would not exist under a dictator. If elections get canceled and the branches no longer exists, it's no longer the United States, it's something else, something horrible.

How is Trump close to a Democrat when his economic policies are much more similar to Reagan or Bush than Obama?

[TheSaint250]

Would this be after pigs fly or before Bernie becomes a Republican?

[The Mikado]

Real dictators don't have <50% approval ratings...

For the purposes of this poll we'll assume he doesn't (or didn't yet) crack down on the polling companies.

Cracking down on the polling companies isn't the issue.

You get a call in the middle of the evening from a stranger saying "Do you approve of President-for-Life Trump, long may he reign, and his restoration of the Republic by seizing power away from the treacherous Democrats, corrupt bureaucrats, and elderly judges?"

Your response totally is "Yes, of course. Hail Trump!"

[Adam Griffin]

Leave it to Atlas to obsess over the minutiae of "OMG how would we know his real approval rating in a dictatorship because the polling companies would get the guillotine", rather than just assuming OP is asking what his actual approval rating would be among the people based on internal/individual opinions.

[BlueSwan]

Mid 20's.

[HisGrace]

Leave it to Atlas to obsess over the minutiae of "OMG how would we know his real approval rating in a dictatorship because the polling companies would get the guillotine", rather than just assuming OP is asking what his actual approval rating would be among the people based on internal/individual opinions.

[Santander]

Leave it to Atlas to obsess over the minutiae of "OMG how would we know his real approval rating in a dictatorship because the polling companies would get the guillotine", rather than just assuming OP is asking what his actual approval rating would be among the people based on internal/individual opinions.

In societies with authoritarian regimes, it is possible for the people to develop something akin to Stockholm Syndrome and become comfortable/indifferent/apathetic about their state of oppression, especially when combined with nationalist fervor. The Chinese government is generally very popular in China except for among some beleaguered minority groups.

Yes, talking about a crackdown on polling companies is silly and irrelevant, but it is perfectly reasonable to discuss how a dictatorial regime could actually be more popular than a democratic regime, especially if the majority basically retains its day-to-day civil liberties.

[The Mikado]

Leave it to Atlas to obsess over the minutiae of "OMG how would we know his real approval rating in a dictatorship because the polling companies would get the guillotine", rather than just assuming OP is asking what his actual approval rating would be among the people based on internal/individual opinions.

In societies with authoritarian regimes, it is possible for the people to develop something akin to Stockholm Syndrome and become comfortable/indifferent/apathetic about their state of oppression, especially when combined with nationalist fervor. The Chinese government is generally very popular in China except for among some beleaguered minority groups.

Yes, talking about a crackdown on polling companies is silly and irrelevant, but it is perfectly reasonable to discuss how a dictatorial regime could actually be more popular than a democratic regime, especially if the majority basically retains its day-to-day civil liberties.

If Trump were savvier, he could pull this off quite well. Everyone hates Congress and views them as useless windbags. If he pulled off a coup that dissolved Congress and replaced it with a hand-selected group of sycophants, he probably could get away with that in describing it as a much-needed update to the Constitutional system...if he were popular and credible to begin with.

I think the last American President who would've had a credible shot at making himself a dictator, had he been so inclined, would've been FDR in his first term.

[pbrower2a]

One approves of the Great and Infallible Leader -- or else!

[Nyvin]

Fox News/Breitbart would come up some story spinning his take over as a positive "because them minorities" and he'd easily maintain his ~35% approval rating with the same base he's always had, even with media scrutiny (whatever would be allowed).

[IceSpear]

Leave it to Atlas to obsess over the minutiae of "OMG how would we know his real approval rating in a dictatorship because the polling companies would get the guillotine", rather than just assuming OP is asking what his actual approval rating would be among the people based on internal/individual opinions.

In societies with authoritarian regimes, it is possible for the people to develop something akin to Stockholm Syndrome and become comfortable/indifferent/apathetic about their state of oppression, especially when combined with nationalist fervor. The Chinese government is generally very popular in China except for among some beleaguered minority groups.

Yes, talking about a crackdown on polling companies is silly and irrelevant, but it is perfectly reasonable to discuss how a dictatorial regime could actually be more popular than a democratic regime, especially if the majority basically retains its day-to-day civil liberties.

I'm asking what his approval would be immediately after this, not years/decades later.

[IceSpear]

Real dictators don't have <50% approval ratings...

For the purposes of this poll we'll assume he doesn't (or didn't yet) crack down on the polling companies.

Cracking down on the polling companies isn't the issue.

You get a call in the middle of the evening from a stranger saying "Do you approve of President-for-Life Trump, long may he reign, and his restoration of the Republic by seizing power away from the treacherous Democrats, corrupt bureaucrats, and elderly judges?"

Your response totally is "Yes, of course. Hail Trump!"

The majority of people in Iran polls said they wanted to be able to elect their Supreme Leader.

[Lord Admirale]

I think a better question is "how?"

[junior chįmp]

110%

[Maxwell]

All pollsters would be shutdown except for TRUMP polls, which show consistent 99.9% until Hillary Clinton is executed live, and then that number would move to 100%.

Real dictators don't have <50% approval ratings...

For the purposes of this poll we'll assume he doesn't (or didn't yet) crack down on the polling companies.

that's the first thing he would do, though.

He'd probably be a bit more concerned with consolidating power first.

why? he's incredibly vain and cares so deeply about POLLS.

[HAnnA MArin County]

..became? Isn't he already?

[IceSpear]

..became? Isn't he already?

No. At the moment he's merely a dicktator.