Love him or hate him, there's no denying that Donald Trump's star is on the rise -- at least among Republican voters.
Trump is picking up some serious steam in his bid for the White House, according to a new poll released Wednesday by the Washington Post and ABC News.
The divisive business mogul-turned-reality star made some controversial statements since launching his bid for the White House last month, but that hasn't held him back from gaining popularity among Republican voters.
According to the poll, 57% of Republicans now have a favorable view of Trump, compared to 40% who have an unfavorable one. The numbers are especially interesting in comparison to those from just a month before, which indicated that 65% of Republicans viewed Trump unfavorably.
But the wider American public is far more skeptical of Trump. One month after his campaign launch, Trump is still feeling the impacts of remarks he made about Mexican immigrants.
"When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best,” he said during his campaign speech . “They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists."
According to the poll, Trump's unfavorability score of 61% among the general public overshadows the favorable opinions of 33% of those surveyed. "Strongly unfavorable" views outnumber strongly positive ratings by a three-to-one ratio, the Post said.
Despite that, though, Trump's numbers are inching ever closer to Republican frontrunner Jeb Bush, according to the poll. At 63%, Bush's favorable rating among Republicans is just ahead of Trump's by six points.
When the overall public was surveyed, Bush was viewed favorably by 38% of Americans and unfavorably by 47%.