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Mark Zuckerberg would tie with Donald Trump in a presidential election, finds poll

Both would gain 40 per cent

Rachael Revesz
Monday 24 July 2017 15:37 BST
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33-year-old has denied he was seeking public office
33-year-old has denied he was seeking public office

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Many high-profile figures are speculated to hold presidential ambitions for the next race in 2020, including Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, and Mark Zuckerberg.

But the Facebook founder might not have what it takes after a new poll showed he would tie with current President Donald Trump.

According to a Public Policy Polling survey of 836 registered voters between 14 and 17 July, Mr Zuckerberg, pegged as a Democratic presidential nominee, would get 40 per cent, and so would Mr Trump.

The news comes as the Silicon Valley entrepreneur was travelling across the US on a 50-state tour that has led some commentators to speculate that he garners presidential ambitions.

Despite his multi-billionaire status, the survey found he was not that well known in the US compared to the President.

A total of 47 per cent of respondents said they had no opinion of him, and of those who had an opinion, it was fairly evenly split with 29 per cent negative and 24 per cent positive.

The 33-year-old spoke out about rumours he was aiming for the White House.

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“Some of you have asked if this challenge means I'm running for public office. I'm not,” he wrote on Facebook in May.

The same survey found other candidates had a much higher chance of beating Mr Trump in three years’ time.

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Former President Barack Obama would win 53 to 40, according to the poll. Hillary Clinton would get 49 to 42.

Vermont senator Bernie Sanders would win 52 to 39, and former Vice President Joe Biden would win bigly at 54 to 39.

The margin of error was 3.4 percentage points.

Mr Trump’s new communications director Anthony Scaramucci was questioned last week on Mr Trump’s record low average approval rating of 38.8 per cent in the second quarter, according to Gallup.

“What I’d say about polls is that they’re a barometric pressure reading for right now, today, but the American people are actually playing a long game and I think they really, really love the President,” he replied.

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