New poll finds Trump outperforms Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom in favorability

A poll released Monday by NBC News media outlet NBC News revealed that the president Donald Trump continues to hold a lead in overall favorability over several top Democratic Party figures, even as his job approval ratings have declined slightly. According to the poll, 41% of respondents said they have a favorable opinion of the president, a figure that puts him ahead of both former Vice President Kamala Harris and California Governor Gavin Newsom, who are two of the Democrats most often mentioned as possible contenders in the 2028 presidential race. The NBC News poll was conducted between Feb. 27 and March 3 among 1,000 respondents. The results have a margin of error of approximately 3.1 percentage points.

According to the media outlet, its survey was able to determine that 34% of participants expressed favorable opinions of Harris, while 27% said the same about Newsom. While it is true that neither Democrat has officially announced plans to run for president, it is true that both the former vice president of the Biden Administration -who lost to Trump in the last presidential election- and the governor of California have been mentioned by several media and political analysts as possible candidates.

The poll also measured perceptions of possible Republican successors, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance looking behind Trump in the results. Rubio received favorable ratings from 34% of respondents, while 38% expressed positive views of Vance. Although neither Republican has formally entered the 2028 race, Trump previously suggested an electoral ticket that would include Rubio and Vance after assuring that together they would be "unstoppable." Despite this, the Republican leader did not specify which of the two he would prefer to see leading the ticket.

Similarly, Trump has also left open the possibility of seeking another term himself, which would be a highly controversial move that would require amending the Twenty-second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. However, the president has hinted on several occasions that he would not be willing to take such action.