In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has gripped the world, President Trump still maintains a high approval rating (51% at least somewhat approve/47% at least somewhat disapprove), despite the mainstream media’s portrayal of his leadership as having failed the American public. There is no doubt there have been major mishaps from the federal government, such as, a lack of testing kits and getting needed medical supplies to “hotspots” in NYC and New Jersey, but the public isn’t ready yet to completely blame Trump for the federal government’s failures. Trump`s support among black voters is getting better and rise to 36%
With that in mind, it’s no surprise that the president’s job approval numbers remain pretty solid. Trump’s standing with his base has been what’s keeping his job approval rating near or above 50%. For instance, a majority of voters aged 30-64 gave him a majority job approval rating (55% at least somewhat approve/43% at least somewhat disapprove), while younger voters aged 18-29 were not as upbeat with Trump’s performance as commander in chief (39% at least somewhat approve/58% at least somewhat disapprove). Other groups that gave the President a solid job approval rating were Catholics (59% at least somewhat approve/39% at least somewhat disapprove), college educated voters (51% at least somewhat approve/49% at least somewhat disapprove), non-college educated voters (51% at least somewhat approve/46% at least somewhat disapprove), small city voters (53% at least somewhat approve/43% at least somewhat disapprove), Millennials (51% at least somewhat approve/46% at least somewhat disapprove) and Generation X voters (56% at least somewhat approve/42% at least somewhat disapprove).
The president’s job performance was rated best by voters in the east (54% at least somewhat approve/44% at least somewhat disapprove) and south (58% at least somewhat approve/41% at least somewhat disapprove), while his performance received a less positive rating in the Central/Great Lakes (46% at least somewhat approve/51% at least somewhat disapprove) and West (41% at least somewhat approve/57% at least somewhat disapprove).
Areas that the president needs to improve upon are with Independents (42% at least somewhat approve/51% at least somewhat disapprove), suburban voters (46% at least somewhat approve/52% at least somewhat disapprove), suburban women (43% at least somewhat approve/54% at least somewhat disapprove), large city voters (49% at least somewhat approve/50% at least somewhat disapprove), and Hispanics (42% at least somewhat approve/55% at least somewhat disapprove). Trump’s numbers continue to improve with African American voters; his current job approval rating is 36% at least somewhat approve/63% at least somewhat disapprove.
A slight majority (51%) of likely voters thought Donald Trump was better equipped “mentally and physically,” than Joe Biden (49%), to handle the coronavirus pandemic. Voters in the south were much more likely to believe Trump was in better shape, physically and mentally, to handle the coronavirus pandemic than Joe Biden, while voters in the Central/Great Lakes and West were more confident in Joe Biden’s ability and stamina to handle the current crisis.
A majority of voters aged 30+ felt the president was in better shape mentally and physically to handle the coronavirus pandemic than presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden. In contrast, younger voters aged 18-29 thought the opposite-59% felt Joe Biden was better equipped to handle the pandemic, while 41% thought Donald Trump was in better shape to handle the crisis. Men (Trump 57%, Biden 43%) were more likely than women (Biden 54%, Trump 47%) to think Trump could handle the current crisis better.
86% of Democrats thought Biden was better equipped mentally and physically, while 91% of Republicans thought the president was better equipped to handle the coronavirus pandemic. Independents were nearly split (Trump 49%/Biden 51%), as were voters living in the east (Trump 51%/Biden 49%) and older voters aged 65+ (Trump 51%/Biden 49%).
Important swing voters: weekly Walmart shoppers (Trump 57%/Biden 43%), weekly Amazon shoppers (Trump 60%/Biden 40%), NASCAR fans (Trump 70%/Biden 30%), union members (Trump 58%/Biden 42%), urban men (Trump 55%/Biden 45%), suburban men (Trump 56%/Biden 44%), and rural voters (Trump 64%/Biden 36%) all thought Trump was in better shape and had more acumen to head-off the coronavirus pandemic. Some of the most vulnerable voters, such as those who lost a job recently, also favored Trump (Trump 65%/Biden 35%).
The president also received support from most generational demographics: a majority of Millennials (Trump 52%/Biden 48%), Generation Xers (Trump 53%/Biden 47%) and Baby Boomers (Trump 53%/Biden 47%) favored the president’s ability to handle the coronavirus pandemic over Joe Biden’s.
However, Biden was not down for the count. The vice president was in better shape than Trump with: the youngest voters-aged 18-24 (Biden 62%/Trump 38%) and aged 18-29 (Biden 59%/Trump 41%), and Generation Z (Biden 63%/Trump 37%). Women (Biden 54%/Trump 47%), a slim majority of Independents (Biden 51%/Trump 49%), suburban voters (Biden 52%/Trump 48%), suburban women (Biden 58%/Trump 43%), urban women (Biden 60%/Trump 40%), African Americans (Biden 72%/Trump 29%) and a slim majority of Hispanics (Biden 52%/Trump 48%) all thought Joe Biden was better equipped than Trump, mentally and physically, to handle the current pandemic.
Handling the coronavirus crisis approval of:
President Donald Trump: 49/51
Former VP Joe Biden: 43/57
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