Roughly 1 in 3 voters would prefer to follow strong, unelected leaders rather than weak, elected ones, a sentiment that is shared by both parties, according to a new poll.
About 33% of voters say they would prefer a strong, unelected leader, with more Republicans (42%) promoting that view than Democrats (31%), according to an Axios/Ipsos poll. The findings contradict a recent speech from President Joe Biden in which he suggested anti-democratic views come from right-wing “MAGA forces.”
MAJORITY VIEWS TRUMP ‘MAGA’ MOVEMENT AS THREAT TO DEMOCRACY: POLL
“MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards,” the president said during a Sept. 1 address in Philadelphia. “Backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love.”
However, the Axios survey suggests near-equal percentages of Republicans and Democrats support undemocratic forms of government. In fact, the poll found that Democrats were more likely than Republicans to say that presidents should have the power to remove judges when their decisions contradict the majority opinion.
Thirty-five percent of voters said presidents should have this power, with 42% of Democrats supporting that statement compared to just 29% of Republicans. That sentiment may be a reflection of the conservative majority on the Supreme Court, which decided earlier this summer to overturn Roe v. Wade.
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That decision prompted calls from several on the Left to expand the number of justices on the Supreme Court to balance out the conservative majority. Others have called for term limits for justices, with many calling for a mandatory retirement age.
The Axios poll surveyed 1,001 adults between Sept. 1-2 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.
