Poll: Over a Third of Potential GOP Voters Want New Direction Away From Trump

More than a third of potential Republican voters want the party's next standard-bearer to move in a different direction than President Donald Trump, according to a new poll released Tuesday.

Thirty-seven percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents said the GOP’s 2028 presidential nominee shouldn't follow Trump's lead, including 60% of those 18 to 44, The New York Times/Siena poll found.

Voters polled who identified themselves as Republicans were more likely to support Trump's positions in general, by a ratio of 65% to 26%.

But a majority of the crucial, Republican-leaning independents opposed Trump's overall leadership, 55% to 40%.

On specific issues, 38% of those surveyed wanted to see a new course set regarding relations with Israel, with 32% and 31% favoring the same for Iran and Russia, respectively.

Thirty-one percent also wanted the next GOP nominee to abandon Trump's stand on tariffs.

On Trump's decision to go to war against Iran, 62% called it the right move and even more — 68% — predicted it will eliminate Iran's nuclear program.

But only 43% said they believed the war will be worth the costs, which include 14 U.S. service members killed and 406 wounded in action, according to a Tuesday tally by the Pentagon.

Nathan Coletti, 49, of Rock Springs, Wyoming, told The New York Times that he voted for Trump in 2024 and wanted the president more focused on improving America's economy.

“Unfortunately, now we’re fighting a war that, to be honest, I have no idea why we’re there,” Coletti said. “And I would tell you that I am actually embarrassed that I voted for him.”

Earlier this month, the Popular Information website estimated total U.S. spending on the war at $71.8 billon during just the first 60 days.

The conflict, which began Feb. 28, has been in a fragile ceasefire since early April, with Trump saying Monday that he called off a "very major attack" scheduled for Tuesday after Persian Gulf allies said a peace deal appeared close.

The nonpartisan group Taxpayers for Common Sense estimated Monday that Americans have paid at least $955 million in additional fuel costs caused by the war's closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and that debt financing of war spending could add as much as $26.9 billion to federal interest payments over the next 10 years.

The New York Times/Siena poll surveyed 1,507 registered voters nationwide from May 11-15, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.