Ryan, McConnell far less popular than Trump among Republicans
When Paul Ryan threatens to sue Donald Trump over his proposed ban on Muslim immigration, and Mitch McConnell makes public statements that Trump "doesn't know a lot about the issues" and lacks "seriousness of purpose" for the presidency, Ryan and McConnell may want to take a look at the latest polling data to see whom the GOP base actually supports.
Hint: It isn't Ryan or McConnell.
In a poll by The Economist/YouGov conducted June 2-5, only 4% of Republicans surveyed said they had a "very favorable" view of McConnell. By comparison, Trump was more than an order of magnitude higher, with a "very favorable" rating of 42% among Republicans. Ryan had a "very favorable" rating of 12%, nearly fourfold lower than Trump.
Joe Biden has the same "very favorable" rating (4%) among Republicans as does McConnell. Hillary Clinton actually has a higher rating (5%), as does Bernie Sanders (6%), and Bill Clinton and Elizabeth Warren (both at 4%) are in a tie with McConnell.
The short-term leader of the #NeverTrump movement – National Review's David French – has a 1% very favorable rating among Republicans and a 6% overall favorability rating.
It can't be good when you are the GOP Senate majority leader and your "very favorable" rating within members of your own party is lower than – or at most, equal to – both Clintons, Warren, and Sanders.
When it comes to total favorability among Republicans, Trump is at 68%, way ahead of Ryan at 48%, and McConnell is down at 22%, while Sanders is at 23% and Bill Clinton is at 18%.
Overall, Trump is far more popular within the GOP than is Ryan, and McConnell is less popular among Republicans than is Bernie Sanders. McConnell is also barely holding off Bill Clinton for popularity within the GOP base.
One suspects that the advice to stop throwing rocks from within a glass house applies to Ryan and McConnell.