ABC NewsBy GARY LANGER(NEW YORK) — Joe Biden holds a 10-point lead over President Donald Trump among registered voters in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, but that’s sliced in half among those certain to vote, reflecting challenges for Biden in terms of voter commitment and enthusiasm alike.Trump has his own risks, including sharply negative views of the economy and greater criticism of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. His overall job approval rating is back under water, 45-53% among all Americans, with a seven-point rise in disapproval since late March.
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Trump’s rating specifically for handling the outbreak is a nearly identical 46-53%, with approval down 5 percentage points and disapproval up 8 in the past two months. The margin worsens in terms of strong sentiment: The number who strongly disapprove of his work on the crisis exceeds those who strongly approve by 15 points, 43 versus 28%.Neither is popular in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates. Forty-two percent of adults see Trump favorably overall, 46% Biden. But more see Trump unfavorably, 55% versus 48% for Biden. And Trump remains poorly rated on a range of personal attributes: About 6 in 10 apiece don’t see him as honest and trustworthy, don’t think he understands the problems of average Americans and don’t think he has the personality and temperament for the job.That said, 50% see Trump as a strong leader — shy of a majority but up a slight 6 points from last fall, and more than say the same of Biden, 43%. And even with the economy in dire straits, Trump gets 52% approval for handling it, although that’s down 5 points since late March, with disapproval up 6, to 44%.Helpful for Biden is that Americans trust him over Trump to direct the federal government’s efforts to control the spread of the coronavirus, 50-42%. The two instead are rated evenly in trust to direct federal government efforts to help the economy recover, 47-47%. But polling this spring has found a greater public priority on controlling the spread of the virus than on restoring the economy. Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
