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Most Trump voters 'don't want to see a female president in their lifetime', poll finds

Despite having no desire to witness it happen, most respondents thought it was likely they would live to see a woman leader of the US

Alina Polianksaya
Saturday 28 April 2018 15:10 BST
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Only 40 per cent of those who voted Trump said they hoped to see a woman take charge of the US
Only 40 per cent of those who voted Trump said they hoped to see a woman take charge of the US (Rick Wilking/Reuters)

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Around 60 per cent of Donald Trump voters said they did not hope to see a female US president in their lifetime, according to a new poll.

While 63 per cent of those who voted Republican in 2016 said they thought it was likely they would live to see a woman lead the country, only 40 per cent of them said they actually wanted this to happen.

The YouGov survey of 1,500 US adults looked into attitudes regarding female leaders, among a range of other political, social and issues.

It asked respondents whether they thought they would see a woman elected as President of the United States in their lifetime.

A total of 63 per cent thought they would either “definitely” or “probably” see a woman take office, 19 per cent thought they would “definitely” or “probably” not, while the rest were unsure.

Seventy-seven per cent of those who voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 compared to 63 per cent of Donald Trump voters felt it was likely they would see this happen.

But when the question was changed to look at their personal wishes, the results also changed.

A total of 66 per cent of people responded yes to the question: “Do you personally hope that the United States elects a woman President of the United States in your lifetime, or not?

While 95 per cent of Clinton voters said yes to the question, only 40 per cent of Trump voters responded affirmatively.

Sixty per cent of Republicans said they did not hope to see a female president.

Ms Clinton was the closest woman to date to get near to the US presidency, having been nominated by a major party.

But in what some saw as a blow to female empowerment, she lost out to Donald Trump, who has been accused of inappropriate behaviour by multiple women - though he has denied allegations.

When survey responses were broken down by gender, it found that slightly more men than women thought they would live to see a female president, with 65 per cent of males voting favourably to the question, compared to 60 per cent of women.

Seventy one per cent of women said they personally hoped to see this happen, compared to 60 per cent of males.

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