4 in 10 voters say they’d reelect Donald Trump

Get ready for 2020, America — according to a new poll, just four in 10 voters say they want six more years of President Donald Trump.

A little more than a year and a half out from the 2020 presidential election, Trump still has strong party loyalty, but voters are already hinting that they prefer a change. According to a new poll released by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, 48 percent of voters say they would rather vote for the Democratic nominee over the current sitting president — while a smaller 41 percent say they’d “definitely” or “likely” reelect Trump.

Trump largely has his base backing him — 88 percent of Republican voters approve of his presidency, and the majority of Americans express confidence in the economy. But compared to recent presidents who faced reelection, Trump is lagging a little bit behind. Barack Obama earned 45 percent of voters who said they’d back his reelection; George W. Bush held strong with 52 percent at the same point in his presidency. Only Bill Clinton’s prospects were on par: Just 38 percent of voters said in January 1995 that they’d back Clinton, who later went on to win his reelection.

The president is also struggling with major issues, according to the poll, which surveyed 900 respondents between February 24 and 27. Some 58 percent doubt his honesty toward the Russia investigation, while another 60 percent disapprove of his decision to declare a national emergency in order to justify building his border wall.

Democratic voters, for their part, say they’re more willing to support candidates who propose broad changes; 55 percent of primary voters say they prefer nominees with bold ideas, as opposed to 42 percent who value pragmatism with policies that are considered easier to enact.

Trump set a high bar for the antics Americans anticipate from him with his freewheeling campaigning style in 2015 and ’16. But if the president’s two-plus-hour rant before the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) Conference on Saturday is any indicator, Trump is anxious to return to his off-script roots by going straight to the voters.

On Saturday, he reveled in the glow of his conservative supporters, railing against the “bullshit” investigations dogging his presidency and bringing up old scores with his long list of known political enemies, from former FBI Director James Comey to ousted Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Trump started off the event by bear-hugging a staff with the American flag, setting the tone for the rest of his appearance — reportedly the longest speech of his presidency.

Reverting to his roots on the campaign trail where speeches would often unravel into winding rants of word association, Trump proudly made clear he wasn’t following some prewritten speech on a teleprompter. And he said one of his few regrets was running too soon with his derogatory nickname of “Pocahontas” for 2020 presidential hopeful Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

“I should have saved the Pocahontas thing for another year because that destroyed her political career and now I won’t get a chance to run against her,” Trump said. “I don’t want to knock out all of the good stuff and wind up with somebody who’s actually got talent.”

Trump’s digs against his potential presidential challengers weren’t the only thing he said he wished he’d saved for the heat of the horse race — Trump seemed keenly aware that his CPAC speech had the classic markers of a campaign event.

“I’m going to regret this,” he said. “This speech should have been delivered one year from now, not now, damn it.”