Poll: Trump Lags 14 Points Behind Biden as Americans Condemn His Response to Protests

Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 12:02 pm

According to the latest CNN poll conducted by SSRS, President Donald Trump lags 14 points behind Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee. Trump’s approval rating of 38 percent is a 7 percent drop as Americans condemn his response to the protests against racial injustice and police brutality that have captivated the nation since the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis, made national headlines. 57 percent of those surveyed say they disapprove of the president’s job performance.

“That’s his worst approval rating since January 2019, and roughly on par with approval ratings for Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush at this point in their reelection years,” CNN notes. “Both went on to lose the presidency after one term.”

“The 41% who say they back the President is the lowest in CNN’s tracking on this question back to April 2019, and Biden’s 55% support is his highest mark yet,” the outlet continues.

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

On the matter of race relations, 63 percent of those surveyed say they disapprove of the president’s performance and 65 percent say his response has been “more harmful than helpful.” More than 8 in 10 say the protests are justified and 27 percent say violent protests in response to police killings against the African American community are justified. (42 percent of Democrats say violent protests are justified compared to just 9 percent of Republicans.)

63 percent say they believe Biden would do a better job of handling race relations, and 91 percent of black voters say they prefer Biden to Trump on this matter. Survey respondents also widely prefer Biden on handling coronavirus (55% to 41%), and on leading the nation in times of crisis (55% to 41%).

Alan Herrera

Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.