Marco Rubio of Florida to 5 points for Mr. Trump and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.
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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is under criticism after repeatedly asserting that he has seen American Muslims celebrate and cheere across the Hudson River following the fall of the Twin Towers during the 9/11 NY attacks. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and Mr. Kasich tied at 9 percent; former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, 8 percent; New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and businessman Carly Fiorina tied at 4 percent, and Sen.
Meanwhile, 49 percent of respondents said that Trump is the best candidate to handle the economy, followed by Cruz who received 11 percent support.
That poll found Rubio and Cruz rising to 13 and 10 percent, respectively, according to Quinnipiac.
“I don’t know where Mr. Trump gets his evidence”, the 2016 Democratic presidential contender said Monday. “He had a big mouth, and he was talking”, CBS quotes Trump’s statement in Myrtle Beach. Something’s happening. I always say they’re not coming from Sweden that want to kill us, they’re not coming from Norway, they’re not coming from Denmark.
Ben Carson, who was at 28 percent in late October, dropped down to 18 percent following a period where he flubbed foreign policy questions and had elements of his biography come under media scrutiny.
“Ben Carson lacks foreign policy knowledge or orientation, which has been laid bare post-Paris”, he said.
He said in a recent debate that Mr. Trump’s plans to deport millions of illegal immigrants was “silly” and said on a Sunday news talk show that keeping a database of Muslims in America, something Mr. Trump appeared to endorse, was “nonsense”. With about 75 days to go, Trump leads with 25% support, Cruz is right there with him at 23%. It was Trump’s first campaign stop in the presidential battleground state, and he opened with a classic Ohio State football cheer.
Trump hasn’t backed down from comments that he would consider “Shutting down mosques or putting Islamic houses of worship in the USA under surveillance” to guard against future terror attacks.
Cruz also led Trump among those who described themselves as very conservative, 38 percent to 21 percent, but Trump was the favorite among respondents who described themselves as only somewhat conservative, as well as those who described themselves as moderate or liberal.
The poll of 600 likely Iowa Republican caucus participants was conducted November 16-22.
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Republican political strategist Douglas Heye said the focus on national security took part of the blame for Mr. Carson’s falling poll numbers. “We gotta knock them”, he said. Rand Paul of Kentucky saw his stock slightly improve to 5 percent.
