Americans believe President Donald Trump would win in a fight against an 8-year-old boy — but only by a slim margin.
A YouGov poll conducted on Wednesday found 45 percent of American adults think Trump, 79, would win in a hypothetical brawl against an 8-year-old boy, while 31 percent backed the 8-year-old and 24 percent said they weren’t sure.
The far-fetched survey came after Trump, while announcing the return of the Presidential Physical Fitness Award on Tuesday, asked a young boy attending the announcement in the Oval Office if he thought he could take him in a fight.
The award, which is tied to the Presidential Fitness Test, was a public-school fixture for decades until it was phased out under former President Barack Obama for a less-competitive alternative.
Despite only a plurality of Americans surveyed thinking that Trump would be victorious going mano-a-niño, most Democrats were rooting for the 8-year-old in the theoretical throwdown.
Among Democrats surveyed, 54 percent said the 8-year-old would win, while 26 percent picked Trump and 20 percent said they were unsure.
A measly six percent of Republicans chose the 8-year-old, while 72 percent stood behind Trump’s fighting capabilities against a child.
Independent voters were more evenly split, with 33 percent picking the pint-sized pugilist, 37 percent picking the president and 30 percent being unsure.
Two other YouGov polls conducted on Wednesday also seemed to be inspired by Trump’s comments to the little boy during Tuesday’s event. The other polls asked: “Who do you think would win in a physical fight between an average American and Donald Trump?” and “Who do you think would win in a physical fight between you and Donald Trump?”
The majority of respondents, totaling 66 percent, said they thought an average American would win against Trump. Responses still appeared to be split by party lines, with 41 percent of Republicans and 89 percent of Democrats choosing the average American.
Meanwhile, 55 percent of respondents said they would win in a fight over Trump, while 19 percent said Trump would win. The same split was visible over party lines, with 75 percent of Democrats saying they would win a rumble with the Republican, while only 33 percent of GOP supporters thought they would.
The president has been known to appreciate a good fight — and is doing what he can to bring the action to the White House, which is set to host the Ultimate Fighting Championship cage match this summer on his 80th birthday.
The mixed martial arts event, which will require the construction of a custom outdoor octagon, is being hosted in commemoration of America’s 250th anniversary. It will take place on June 14, Trump’s birthday.
The president also invited a group of MMA fighters to the White House on Wednesday and, during a hastily announced Oval Office press conference, he appeared to turn to fighter Justin Gaethje for his opinion on the state of the U.S. war with Iran.
Before becoming president, Trump was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a celebrity member in 2013.
Trump’s relationship with violence goes beyond his love of the sport. While Trump has long accused his political opponents of using violent rhetoric to prompt attacks against him – and has been the target of would-be assassins multiple times – he himself has a long record of talking up violence against others.
In 2018, Trump and then-former Vice President Joe Biden got into a spat, with each claiming they could beat the other up.
Biden launched the war of words saying he could “beat the hell out of” Trump if they were both still in high school, prompting Trump to say that Biden would “go down fast and hard, crying all the way.”
Trump went as far as to say that Biden was trying to “act like a tough guy,” even though he was “weak.”
Similar rhetoric has continued popping up over the years. At a rally in Iowa in 2016 he urged attendees not to hold back against anyone trying to disrupt the event, saying: “If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously, okay? Just knock the hell—I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees. I promise, I promise.”
The same month, at a rally in Las Vegas, he said of a protester who was being removed from the hall: “I’d like to punch him in the face.”
In May 2020, during protests following the police murder of George Floyd, Trump posted on social media: “When the looting starts, the shooting starts,” echoing a phrase controversially used by a Miami police chief in the late 1960s. The president also asked whether he could order police to shoot protesters in the legs, according to former Defense Secretary Mark Esper.
And in a 2023 speech to supporters, Trump declared: “I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution.”
He has also made violent threats against Iran amid the ongoing war, most recently claiming that the country will “be blown off the face of the earth” if U.S. vessels going through the Strait of Hormuz are attacked.
The latest rhetoric follows last month’s threat that a “whole civilization will die” in Iran “never to be brought back again,” if the nation did not agree to a ceasefire deal and reopen the Strait.
