Trump: Libya attacks won't be big factor

• Tweet

WASHINGTON, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Donald Trump, a proxy for Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, says he doubts the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya will be a big election factor.

However, a Rasmussen Reports poll released Monday indicated likely voters are critical of how the Obama administration handled the situation in Libya, including the deaths of U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and three other diplomatic staffers in the attack on the consulate in Benghazi Sept. 11.

The Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey indicated 35 percent of likely voters rated the administration's response to the situation in Libya as good or excellent, down 9 percentage points from 44 percent in mid-September just after Stevens was killed. Forty percent said they view the administration's Libya response as poor, up from 34 percent a month ago

Trump, who has endorsed Romney's campaign and speaks about the former Massachusetts governor on the campaign trail, said Sunday during an interview with Fox News he didn't think the Libya attacks would be a "game-changer" come November, The Hill reported.

"I don't see the people and everybody out there looking at this the same way they should be," Trump said.

The business magnate who once speculated whether he would run for president added that while Libya "shows incompetence ... the thing that will play a big role will be the economy."

Ultimately though, Trump said, President Obama would be held responsible for what happened in Libya.

"It is always the person on the top," Trump said. "The president is the president, and he's our leader, for better or worse. He's our leader and he has to bear responsibility."

Results of the Rasmussen survey are based on a nationwide survey of 1,000 likely voters conducted Saturday and Sunday. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.