Majority Of Americans Want Biden Running Virus Response And Economy

Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 12:00 pm

A majority of Americans want Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden running the US economy and the federal coronavirus response.

A new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll found:

According to this poll, a third of people said the coronavirus will either be a major (14%) or minor one (20%). But about two-thirds (64%) said they’ve already made up their minds. So the group that could be swayed and is judging the president based on his handling of the pandemic could well be determinative.

To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.

Also, majorities said they prefer Biden over Trump when it comes to handling both the coronavirus (55% to 40%) and the economy (51% to 44%) — what could be a difficult sign for Trump.

Trump’s approval rating remains flatlined at 44%, but his disapproval rating jumped from 49% to 55%. Trump is barely clinging on to a positive approval rating on the economy with Independents (51%) but has a (58%) disapproval rating with the same group for his handling of the coronavirus.

This poll is the first where voters have expressed the desire to have Biden running the federal government instead of Trump.

The US economy isn’t going to recover by Election Day.

A majority of voters are beginning to make the connection that they might be better off with Joe Biden in charge. The NPR poll is loaded with red flags for Trump. The President’s poll numbers are stuck in the 40%-44% range, and he has little support outside of the Republican Party.

The opening is there for Joe Biden to seal the deal and convince voters that it is time for a change.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

Follow Jason Easley on Facebook

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association