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Irish voters prefer Biden to Trump, but many are unconvinced by both candidates

Just a third of youngest Irish voters prefer the Irish-American incumbent, but over-65s show strong support

Illustration: Paul Scott
Irish voters would much prefer to see Joe Biden beat Donald Trump in the event that the US presidential election comes down to a choice between the two men, according to the latest Irish Times/Ipsos B&A poll. Illustration: Paul Scott
Pat Leahy's picture
Pat Leahy
Fri Feb 09 2024 - 06:00

Irish voters would much prefer to see Joe Biden beat Donald Trump in the event that the US presidential election comes down to a choice between the two men – but a sizeable minority are not convinced by either candidate, according to the latest Irish Times/Ipsos B&A poll.

Asked “if the US election this year is a choice between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, who would you prefer to see win?” half of all voters – 50 per cent – say they would prefer Biden to win, with just 14 per cent preferring a Trump victory.

But nearly a third – 32 per cent – say that they would like to see neither man win the presidency, with a further 5 per cent offering no opinion.

It is the youngest voters who are most unconvinced by Biden – just a third (33 per cent) of voters aged 18-24 prefer Biden, with 16 per cent preferring Trump. Some 43 per cent say they want neither as presidency, with a further 9 per cent offering no opinion.

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By contrast Biden scores best with those over 65, of whom 64 per cent say they want the incumbent re-elected.

Sinn Féin and Independent/other voters are the least enthusiastic about Biden, and show the highest numbers of those favouring a Trump victory.

For instance 71 per cent of Fine Gael supports favour Biden, with just 7 per cent backing Trump; among Sinn Féin voters just 41 per cent back Biden and 16 per cent want to see Trump elected. Among Fianna Fáil voters, 64 per cent favour Biden and just 9 per cent back Trump; for support of Independents and small parties Biden is at 43 per cent and Trump 17 per cent.

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