OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Republicans are more excited about former President Donald Trump returning to the White House than Democrats are about President Joe Biden serving another four years in office.
According to a recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey, 54% of Republicans surveyed said that they would be “excited” about a second term of a Trump presidency.
When it came to Biden winning the rematch between the incumbent White House president and his predecessor in November’s presidential election, just four out of ten Democrats expressed the same sentiment.
According to the poll, seven out of ten Democrats said they would feel “angry” or “fearful” if Trump were to win the presidency. If Biden were to defeat Trump for the second time in a row, 56% of Republicans expressed the same sentiment.
Both enthusiasm for and distaste for the two front-runners in a race that polls predict will be very close will probably be important catalysts for igniting the Republican and Democratic bases.
With less than seven months until Election Day on November 5, Trump has an early advantage in public opinion surveys, which he holds in the majority of national surveys as well as in numerous polls in five of the six crucial battleground states where Biden defeated Trump by a narrow margin to win the 2020 presidential election.
For months, national polls have shown that the vast majority of Americans’ number one concern heading into the 2024 elections is the state of the economy or, more specifically, their own personal finances amid 25–30 percent price increases for most consumer goods since Biden became president.
Another new survey shows that hasn’t changed.
The latest Financial Times-Michigan Ross poll released on Sunday found that former President Donald Trump is trusted more on the economy than Biden by 8 points, 43–35 percent.
“In another worrying sign for the White House, the monthly FT-Michigan Ross survey has consistently found voters trust Trump more than Biden when it comes to handling the economy,” according to the poll analysis, noting that Trump has gained 2 points since the previous survey.
Only 28% of voters say Biden has helped the economy, with a 58% disapproval rating compared to just 40% approval.
“The poll results, which come less than six months before November’s presidential election, suggest voters are still blaming Biden for high consumer prices such as those for gasoline and food without giving him credit for a booming economy and strong jobs market,” the polling analysis said.
And though inflation has come down from near-record highs under Biden, the rate remains well above the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent, which is one of the main reasons why interest rates have also skyrocketed under Biden.
The poll also found that 49% of voters are concerned about income levels, marking an increase of 4 points since last month. Additionally, 32% of voters expressed concerns about housing costs, which is up by 5 points.
The White House has gotten some devastating news as the conviction, in New York, of Trump has not worked out the way Democrats anticipated.
The Center Square reported that a new poll showed that the former president’s popularity has not dwindled post-verdict.
A new Emerson College Polling national survey found that a whopping 44 percent of those polled said that the 34 felony convictions did not impact their support for the former president; 33 percent said it made them less likely to support him, and another 27 percent said it made them more likely to vote for him.
“Trump’s support in our polling remained the same before and after his conviction,” Executive Director of Emerson College Polling Spencer Kimball said. “A majority of Democrats say it makes them less likely to support Trump (51%) and a majority of Republicans (55%) say it makes them more likely to support Trump. A plurality of independents say it makes no impact (41%), while 38% are less likely to vote for Trump and 21% more likely.”
“The poll found Trump had a narrow lead over President Joe Biden, with 46% of voters behind Trump and 45% backing Biden in the 2024 presidential election. Nine percent were undecided,” the report said.
