POLL: JUNIOR BEATS IVANKA, OF COURSE

For what it's worth:

Ready to skip 2020 and go straight to 2024? In a new SurveyMonkey poll, Republican voters chose children of President Trump — Don Jr. and Ivanka — as two of the top four picks for president in four years.

... An early poll like this is largely a measure of name ID. But it's also a vivid illustration of just how strong Trump's brand is with the GOP.

... According to the SurveyMonkey survey of 1,854 adults who lean Republican, Vice President Mike Pence tops the 2024 list, and Don Jr. is second.

Between the lines: Don Jr. was the top choice among young voters, while Pence was the clear preference for older voters.

This is meaningless four years ahead of time, but please note that Don Jr. does much better than Ivanka in this survey. He isn't #2 just because of his name -- he's #2 because he courts the base more single-mindedly than anyone else on the list. It seems to be a full-time job for him -- which is more than I can say for his work at Daddy's company.

Here are the numbers:



I'm surprised at Pence's strength -- I guess he's the Biden of the GOP, a man prized primarily for his loyalty to a party hero. And maybe I've been underestimating the popularity of Haley and Ivanka on the right, though I think both will fade in the run-up to 2024 if, as I suspect, they try to appeal to the center as well as the right.

I'm disappointed that the survey didn't include wingnut heroes from the impeachment hearings -- Jim Jordan, Devin Nunes, Matt Gaetz, Doug Collins. I think some would have done quite well. On the other hand, I see that while Elise Stefanik may have Had A Moment during the impeachment process, she's not a star yet.

Others who should have been on the list include media figures (Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Mark Levin) and pardoned right-wing criminals (Joe Arpaio, Eddie Gallagher, Clint Lorance). I think some of them might have done quite well.

But the person who would have cleared the field is Donald Trump Senior. I know that many of you think he'll be in prison or on a nursing home dementia ward by 2024, but by then he might be a one-term president eyeing a comeback -- or a two-term president who's decided to treat the 22nd Amendment with the same respect he shows the rest of the Constitution. Seriously: How certain are you that Trump's assaults on the rule of law won't make it possible for him to be president for life?

Whether or not it's possible, I'm sure most of Red America would like it to happen. I hope someone polls the idea someday, just so we understand the depth of the rot in the GOP electorate.