The idea of Donald Trump's thumb on the nuclear button is not frightening to many Republicans, 34 percent of whom said they would trust the real estate tycoon turned presidential candidate to control the nation's arsenal, according to a new poll.

But Trump's main rival and the apparent new GOP front-runner, Ben Carson, enjoys even more confidence among the party's supporters: 39 percent of them said they would trust the former neurosurgeon to handle weapons of mass destruction, Reuters noted, based on the survey it conducted between Oct. 28 and Nov. 2 in collaboration with the global market research company Ipsos.

Some of the Republican White House hopefuls who have actual government experience, meanwhile, scored much lower on the question pollsters say provides "insight into voters' views on foreign policy." Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who has touted his international experience on the campaign trail and frequently points to his service on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, came in at only third at 27 percent.

The poll, which Reuters and Ipsos said had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points, also measured the trust candidates enjoyed in other key policy areas. It revealed, for instance, that 59 percent of Republicans trust Trump to handle the economy, a huge advantage over Carson at 36 percent, Rubio at 27 percent, and former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina at 25 percent.

In the meantime, another national poll seems to solidify Carson's status as new GOP front-runner, NBC News reported. The network's survey, conducted in collaboration with The Wall Street Journal, has the physician's overall backing at 29 percent. Carson is trailed by Trump at 23 percent, Rubio at 11 percent, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz at 10 percent, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at 8 percent.

The poll, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points, echoes similar results in a New York Times/CBS poll released last week. It was conducted between Oct. 25 and 29, and thus includes opinions from both before and after the third Republican presidential debate hosted by CNBC.