Biden Expands Lead as Trump's Approval Drops - WSJ/NBC Poll

[question everything]

Source: WSJ

WASHINGTON—Former Vice President Joe Biden’s lead over President Trump reached double digits this month as Mr. Trump’s approval rating declined amid widespread disagreement with his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll. Less than four months before the November election, 51% of voters said they would vote for Mr. Biden if the election were held today, with 40% backing Mr. Trump. Mr. Biden’s lead over the president rose to 11 percentage points from 7 percentage points last month, as both candidates saw growth in the share of voters who view them very negatively.

But Mr. Trump maintained the backing of a majority of voters on the economy, with 54% approving of his handling of the matter, a record high in the poll. The U.S. economy officially entered a recession in February after the pandemic forced wide swaths of the economy to shut down, triggering millions of job losses. While activity showed signs of rebounding in May, economists expect the outlook could deteriorate as a wave of new cases forces states to pause or reverse reopening plans.

The president’s overall job-approval rating dropped 3 percentage points over the last month. Forty-two percent of voters approved of Mr. Trump’s performance, with 56% disapproving—his lowest job-approval rating since April 2018. Peter Hart, a Democratic pollster who worked on the survey, said Mr. Trump faced the most challenging environment for an incumbent since Jimmy Carter in 1980 and Lyndon Johnson in 1968. Mr. Carter lost and Mr. Johnson decided not to run for re-election.

(snip)

By more than 2-to-1, voters said they are more likely to vote for a candidate who is more focused on stopping the spread of the virus than on reopening businesses. Nearly three-quarters of voters said they always wear a mask while shopping, working or when they’re around people outside their homes, an 11-percentage-point increase from last month. The share of Trump supporters who say they always wear masks climbed 15 points since June, from 39% to 54%. Overall, nearly three-quarters of voters, 72%, said they believed the country was on the wrong track. Republican pollster Bill McInturff, who conducted the survey with Mr. Hart and fellow Democrat Jeff Horwitt, said Mr. Trump’s path toward winning reelection is narrowing.


Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-expands-lead-as-trumps-approval-drops-11594846800 (subscription)

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. Biden Widens . . . . nt

[lagomorph777]

8. it's such a beautiful rhyme - hope to hear it many times.

[SunSeeker]

2. BYE DON!

[rownesheck]

3. But what the hell

is causing Biden's negativity to go up?!

[Lonestarblue]

5. I've wondered that too.

I remember seeing some program recently where a pundit was talking about the black community’s support of Biden. She made a point that younger black voters are not as keen on Biden as those in older generations. I wonder if Biden has not said or done quite enough to support the goals of Black Lives Matter. I don’t recall that he has said a lot about what he would change, other than he does not support the move to defund police departments.

Some of the disapproval could also be coming from the younger Bernie supporters who want much more change. I think most of Bernie’s supporters will vote for Biden, though, because the alternative of Trump means no change at all and lots of destruction.

[bucolic_frolic]

6. It's an awareness at this point

not a concern, but yes it should be explored. I suspect it's the old sleepy out of touch that Trump throws at him, combined with liberal label and leftist business policies. Clearly Trump will play those two cards because they're all he has. Biden should be able to fend that off with debate performances and infrastructure/research pro-growth alternative energy initiatives.

But Trump will go for the jugular, however he defines it. Democrats are running a stealth campaign at this point, it's all about the ground action and letting Trump destroy himself. If the pandemic deepens and shutdowns are required causing further economic pain, Trump is done.

[Lock him up.]

4. Again, national polls are more or less meaningless.

And they're risky because they give a sense of comfort for casual voters to not bother to go vote (or mail-in their vote) thinking it's all sealed and done. Also bad for down ballot. The Senate is in play!

The EC (states) in swing districts polls are those to work for and to GOTV:
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/


BRING JUSTICE BACK AGAIN
RICO TRUMPs & ACCOMPLICES
THEN LOCK 'EM ALL UP!*&!%*!

[Happy Hoosier]

9. Again, not meaningless, but not definitive.

Yes, we need to focus on state polls as we get close to the election, but the national polls do give a sense of the race and help set the narrative.

[riversedge]

7. Trump has hit the trifecta in the misery market. The three key indicators--job rating, personal feel

....... Peter Hart, a Democratic pollster who worked on the survey, said Mr. Trump faced the most challenging environment for an incumbent since Jimmy Carter in 1980 and Lyndon Johnson in 1968. Mr. Carter lost and Mr. Johnson decided not to run for re-election.



Candidate SupportPreference for president, JulySource: WSJ/NBC News telephone poll of 900registered voters conducted July 9–12; Margin oferror +/-3.27 pct. pts.
BidenTrumpTOTALMenWomenAges 18-34Age 65 orolderWhiteBlackHispanic0%1020304050607080
TrumpxMenx45%
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“President Trump has hit the trifecta in the misery market. The three key indicators—job rating, personal feelings, attitudes on re-election—are all deeply submerged underwater,” Mr. Hart said. “They represent the best measure of the standing and political strength of an incumbent president.”