What’s more, as more time passes since the end of his presidency, Republicans may be increasingly eager for Trump’s return. Back in May, Quinnipiac found Republicans in favor of a Trump presidential run 66 percent to 30 percent — now it’s 78 percent to 16 percent. And while Morning Consult/Politico does not appear to have asked the question before, they have previously asked whether Trump should “play a major role,” “play a minor role” or “no longer play a role” in the Republican Party. Morning Consult hasn’t found as much support for Trump as Quinnipiac, but in their most recent poll, 63 percent of Republican registered voters said a major role, 19 percent said a minor role and 13 percent said no role. That’s slightly up from 59 percent who wanted him to play a major role in February (when 18 percent said minor role and 17 percent said no role). However, not every pollster agrees that Republicans’ appetite for more Trump has increased: HarrisX/The Hill found virtually no change from their Nov. 17-19, 2020, survey.

Despite Republicans’ enthusiasm for a Trump comeback, however, the American electorate as a whole is much cooler on the notion. The latest HarrisX/The Hill poll found that registered voters overall opposed Trump running again, 53 percent to 47 percent. Independents were against the idea 58 percent to 42 percent. The margin was even wider according to Morning Consult/Politico (59 percent to 35 percent, with independents opposed 58 percent to 30 percent) and Quinnipiac (58 percent to 35 percent among both independents and adults overall). Quinnipiac also offered some more inauspicious numbers for the ex-president, such as his 39 percent to 52 percent overall favorable/unfavorable ratings and the fact that Americans felt, 51 percent to 41 percent, that he has had a mainly negative impact on American politics.