Carter Banth maybe President-elect that of Donald Trump least popular date to dateat least on the basis of Sachs Media most recent survey of 800 registered voters in Florida.

Just 33% approve of Trump’s nomination of Banth as an infrastructure adviser, while a nearly equal 30% disapprove.

The problem is (as our readers probably know, but only 37% of respondents admit) neither Banth nor the position actually exists.

That’s right, nearly two-thirds of Florida voters approve or disapprove of someone who isn’t real, and it’s hard to come up with a reasonable explanation other than the fact that their views are shaped entirely by their feelings for Trump himself.

“We planned to test the approval ratings of the dozen team members President Trump has nominated so far, but we wanted a little context to judge how Floridians are setting their ratings — in to what extent does it depend on the person who was appointed and to what extent does it depend on the person appointed? Is it the man who makes the choices? explain Karen numberswho leads Sachs Media’s research practice.

“The question now is whether we can be sure that the “don’t know” outnumber the “satisfied” or “dissatisfied,” or should we lament that nearly 2 in 3 Floridians claim to feel something about about a fictitious person appointed to a fictitious and non-controversial role.

The Sachs survey, conducted using a random sample of Florida voters from November 11 to 17, shows large gaps in approval between the most popular and least popular choices Trump announced.

Leading the pack is the Florida senator. Marco Rubiochosen by Trump to become the country’s secretary of state: 59% approve, 40% disapprove and only 1% say they don’t know. Indeed, Rubio’s nomination has the approval of one in four Florida Democrats, more than double the approval Democrats have for any other appointee.

In fact, Rubio is the only Trump appointee whose selection received majority support from Florida voters surveyed. Following Rubio in his endorsement is Tom Homan as “Tsar of the Borders” (49%), Elon Musk as a government effectiveness advisor (49%), Elise Stefanik as UN ambassador (47%), Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence (46%), Doug Bergum as secretary of the Ministry of the Interior (45%), Mike Waltz as national security advisor (45%), Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense (43%), Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security (43%), and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services (40%).

Trump’s appointment as a Panhandle congressman perhaps shows that support for Rubio was not solely due to his “favorite son” status as a Floridian. Matt Gaetz as attorney general was the least popular, with only 38% in favor and 57% against. As expected, for all of these people, approval was significantly greater among Republicans than among Democrats – even for those who are (or recently were) Democrats themselves.

A few of these choices already enjoy exceptional notoriety – Musk, RFK Jr. and Gaetz, for example – and, as might be expected, fewer Florida voters express uncertainty about each of them. them. For others, it is the potential employment that can inspire greater or lesser confidence – for example, with Trump’s well-known position on the border, his nomination of Tom Homan leaves only 8% of Florida voters unsure whether they know much about him or not.

And then there’s Hegseth — the Fox News personality, author and Army veteran among Trump’s most polarizing appointments. Hegseth rose to the rank of major in the National Guard, served as an infantry officer, a platoon leader in the 101st Airborne Division at Guantanamo Bay, a civil-military operations officer in Iraq and a counterinsurgency trainer in Afghanistan.

Still, many critics believe Hegseth lacks defensive experience for the position. So, Cyphers examined how Floridians view the qualifications of former secretaries of Defense, a position created in 1947 to embody civilian oversight of the military.

The military experience of the last 20 secretaries has been remarkably diverse – including that of the president That of Joe Biden current secretary, former four-star general Lloyd Austin; David Norquistwho had only held civilian roles in federal financial management and security before becoming deputy secretary in the first Trump administration and serving briefly as Biden’s acting secretary; And Leon Panettawho held this position in the Obama administration and served as the Army’s first lieutenant.

Cyphers randomly asked respondents to view one of three messages – the first, regarding Hegseth’s rank as major; the second, on Norquist’s civil history; and the third, on Panetta’s service as first lieutenant. All three groups were then asked a common question: Do you think this person’s military experience was enough to qualify them for this role?

Once again, Florida voters of both parties appear to be resorting to political assumptions rather than objective assessments.

Let’s start with the Democrats. Only 3% of Democrats informed of Hegseth’s major rank considered it sufficient to qualify him for the role. That compares to the 61% of Democrats who have heard of Panetta’s rank of first lieutenant (lower in the chain of command than Hegseth’s rank) and the 37% who have heard of Norquist’s civilian experience.

Republicans display a similar bias. Nearly three in four respondents (74%) say Hegseth’s military experience qualifies him for the role of defense secretary. Yet only 18 percent of Republicans who heard about Panetta’s rank said the same, and only 1 percent found Norquist’s civilian record adequate.

Voters who register without party affiliation are more consistent in how they view these appointees. Equal shares consider Hegseth and Panetta qualified — and both more so than Norquist.

“Military experience is one of several factors that could qualify a person to serve as Secretary of Defense and it is undoubtedly an important factor,” Cyphers acknowledged. “But the use of this argument seems strongly conditioned on the political affiliation of the person making the nomination, more than on the actual background of the candidate.”

These same prejudices are in fact at play for all these ministerial positions. Over the coming months, Floridians will have the opportunity to learn more about each appointee and re-evaluate whether they are suitable to serve in the roles President Trump desires. In most cases, the U.S. Senate will have the same task: confirm or deny each nomination.

“We will continue to poll Florida voters about each of these candidates, and I expect we will see changes in public opinion as President Trump’s final Cabinet takes shape,” Cyphers said. “Stay tuned.”

Post Views: 0