Republicans trust Trump on economy

Donald Trump is the Republican candidate most trusted to manage the economy, deal with foreign leaders and serve as commander in chief, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll of Republicans conducted after the party’s third debate.

And more Republic-ans would trust him with the nation’s nuclear weapons than most of the rest of their party’s presidential primary field.

In terms of overall support, Mr Trump was favored by 31 per cent of Republicans po-lled by Reuters/Ipsos in an online survey conducted from Octob-er 28 to November 2 that had a credibility interval of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson placed second with 18 per cent. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and former Governor Jeb Bush tied for third place with10 per cent each.

For anyone still confused about why Mr Trump is holding strong onto a double-digit lead in most presidential primary polls, look no farther than at how much Republican voters trust him.

The growing trust shows Mr Trump’s campaign message — that his experience in business means voters should pick him to negotiate trade deals or take on Russia’s Vladimir Putin — is resonating.

On the question of whether voters trust the candidates to manage the economy, 59 per cent said “yes” to Mr Trump.

None of the other Republican candidates came even close.

Mr Carson was second, with 36 per cent saying they trust him to manage the economy.

It is not just on the economy where Mr Trump shines.

Asked whether they trusted the various Republican candidates to be commander in chief, Mr Trump and Mr Carson were tied, at 40 per cent each.