Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden leads President Trump in a new national poll that shows a reversal in the race amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Forty-four percent of respondents in the USA Today–Suffolk University poll said they backed the former vice president, while 38 percent said they supported Trump.
The last USA Today–Suffolk poll showed Trump leading Biden by 3 points in December. Biden was in the middle of a crowded presidential primary late last year, while Trump was dealing with the House impeachment inquiry into his past conversations with the president of Ukraine.
The latest survey also found that majorities of respondents did not view either Biden of Trump as strong leaders. Forty-five percent of those polled described the president as a “strong leader,” while 52 percent said the term did not describe him. Forty-three percent said the term described Biden, while 47 percent said it did not.
Meanwhile, 57 percent of respondents said Biden “cares about people like me,” compared to only 39 percent who said the same about Trump.
Trump, however, bested Biden when respondents were asked to identify which leader “knows how to get things done.” Fifty-one percent said that best described Trump, while 48 percent said it described Biden.
Trump is now dealing with the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., while Biden has also put forth his own coronavirus response, putting together an advisory of public health experts and holding numerous virtual events on the matter.
The president has faced backlash for parts of his coronavirus response, most recently for suggesting medical experts study the use of disinfectants to treat COVID-19.
The new USA Today–Suffolk University poll was conducted April 21-26 among 1,000 registered voters. The margin of error is 3.3 percentage points.
Biden now leads Trump in a number of national-level polls. The RealClearPolitics polling average showed Biden leading Trump by 6.3 points on Monday.