Olson on Newsmax: Capture of Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro
Byline: American Pulse Staff/Olson Strategies Staff
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Dustin Olson, lead pollster at American Pulse Research & Polling/Managing Partner at Olson Strategies, joined Todd Starnes on Newsmax to discuss public opinion about the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro.
Public Support High for Capture of Nicolas Maduro
If you want to understand where the American people stand on Venezuela, the December Harvard-Harris poll makes it clear: Public Opinion was closer to an 80/20 split than a partisan one, driven by drugs, crime, and national security.
Voters start from a simple premise. They do not view Maduro as a legitimate democratic leader. 64% say he should be removed from office, and 75% say his government is a dictatorship. And when voters are given fuller context—election fraud, narco-terrorism charges, and the spillover of Venezuela’s collapse into the US—support rises sharply:
• 85 percent say Maduro should be removed
• And among those, 76 percent say the U.S. should arrest him and bring him to the United States for trial
Republican Voters Show Strong Alignment on Key Issues
And, that 85% figure rises even higher among Republicans, as Olson notes: "In the Harvard-Harris Poll last month, they found that Republicans actually were much more in favor of removing Maduro than the general public at about 91% when you talk to them about the narco-terrorism charges, et cetera."
As Olson pointed out in the segment, Republican voters are pretty well aligned: "I think in the real world, outside of the blogosphere and the podcast world, that in reality, Republicans are pretty well coalesced around the president and on these policies."
Media Coverage Will Impact Public Opinion
Importantly, those numbers were collected when all of this was theoretical, so once one’s preferred media says it's “bad,” numbers will shift. But the public’s underlying view—and the decisive action to take out Venezuelan drug boats—is anything but abstract.
Americans connect Venezuela directly to the drug crisis. 65% believe the Venezuelan government participates in the drug trade, and 71% believe it supports criminal cartels. That’s why voters back aggressive interdiction. 67% support the U.S. destroying boats bringing drugs into the United States from South America, and 63% say those boats are appropriately targeted.
📊 For more insights, visit: PollingClub.com