Joe Biden is opening up a significant lead over Donald Trump in a new national poll, even as the president’s own popularity is rising amid his response to the coronavirus.
The new Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday showed that Biden had opened up an eight-point advantage over Trump nationally with voters, leading 49 percent to 41 percent. The former vice president had the lead with some key demographics, The Hill noted, including independent voters, women, and black voters.
According to the publication, Trump trailed Biden despite seeing a rise in approval personally over the course of the last few weeks.
“Still, the poll shows Trump with his highest approval rating since at least last fall,” the report noted. “Forty-five percent of respondents said they approve of the job Trump is doing in office, up 4 points from 41 percent last month and 7 points from his low of 38 percent in October.”
Trump had enjoyed a boost in popularity across polling amid the outbreak of the coronavirus, but there is evidence that the bump is starting to subside. As Vanity Fair reported, his peak at close to 55 percent approval on the handling of coronavirus appeared low. George W. Bush, by comparison, saw his approval ratings peak at 92 percent.
“That only 55% disapprove seems low still, given the chaos that has characterized the administration’s response. But individual polls are not gospel, especially given the fluid nature of the situation,” the outlet wrote. “It’s possible that as the crisis worsens, proving Trump’s predictions incorrect, disapproval will continue to grow.”
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Some political pundits have attributed Trump’s approval bump to Americans rallying around the leader in a time of national crisis. The president has been criticized for an early response to the coronavirus that downplayed its severity, but he has since taken a more serious approach and extended national measures to encourage social distancing.
It is not clear yet how the end of the Democratic primary could affect Biden’s polling against Trump. On Wednesday, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders announced that he would be suspending his campaign, weeks after Biden had taken a large delegate lead with victories on Super Tuesday and continued increasing the gap in several contests that followed.
Biden has polled well against Trump both nationally and in a series of key swing states. As The Inquisitr reported, the former vice president held a narrow lead in Florida — a state that Trump won in 2016 and that both candidates will likely be targeting in November.
