President-elect Donald Trump has picked some, well, perhaps a kind phrase would be anti-establishment, people to serve in his soon-to-be cabinet.
And Utahns have mixed feelings about those selections so far, a new UtahPolicy poll finds.
Pollster Dan Jones & Associates had just completed the survey when Trump announced that Mitt Romney – a Mormon and Utah favorite – would NOT be his Secretary of State.
So Romney was still technically in the running for that top post when Jones was in the field, asking whether Utahns were pleased or displeased with Trump’s cabinet selections up to that point (around Dec. 13).
Jones found:
- Half of all Utahns were pleased with the selections Trump had made to lead his new administration.
- 36 percent were displeased.
- And 14 percent didn’t know.
Romney had very harsh words for Trump, both before he won the GOP presidential nomination and afterward.
It was a bit of a surprise that Trump even considered Romney for the top cabinet post – having dismissed Romney as a “loser” during the campaign.
So Romney – the hero of the 2002 Winter Olympics and the first Mormon presidential nominee of a major political party in U.S. history (he lost to President Barack Obama in 2012) – is much liked in Utah, and Trump considering him no doubt was viewed well in the Beehive State.
Jones finds a real difference in opinion between men and women in Trump’s cabinet picks:
- 59 percent of men were pleased with the selections up through Dec. 12.
- But only 42 percent of women were satisfied.
- Just 29 percent of men were displeased with the choices.
- While 42 percent of women didn’t like whom Trump was picking.
That 17-point difference in approval is a significant difference between men and women’s opinions, rarely seen in Utah polling.
Some other poll demographics:
- Republicans like Trump’s picks, 75-13 percent.
- Democrats dislike the selections, 92-5 percent.
- And political independents are displeased with the Trump selection, 49-31 percent.
Cabinet posts are subject to U.S. Senate confirmation. But Republicans held on to a majority there in the Nov. 8 elections, 52-48.
So it is likely Trump will get the men and women he wants in his top administrative posts.
Those who told Jones they are “very conservative” in political philosophy support Trump’s picks, 83-8 percent.
But moderates turn the other way, opposing the selections, 40-38 percent, with a large 23 percent undecided.
The “very liberal” are not in doubt, disliking Trump’s picks, 97-3 percent.
Utah Mormons have always had mixed feelings about Trump.
But so far they are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. “Very active” Mormons are pleased with Trump’s picks, 62-23 percent.
Jones polled 614 adults from Dec. 8-12. (News of Trump NOT selecting Romney began running in national news media on the 12th and 13th.)
The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.95 percent.
