WASHINGTON — US voters see Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump as the better candidate for the economy but prefer his Democratic rival President Joe Biden's approach on preserving democracy, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
The three-day poll that concluded on Sunday (June 23) showed that less than five months before the Nov 5 election, the electorate is divided on the candidates' approach on the issues that respondents view as the top two problems facing the nation.
Biden's approval rating, measured across all respondents in the poll, rose marginally to 37 per cent from 36 per cent in May when it tied the lowest reading of his presidency. Many Democrats worry Biden could be stung by voter concerns over his age — at 81 he's the oldest US president to hold the office — and disapproval within his party of his support of Israel's war against Hamas.
When asked which of the two candidates had a better approach for the economy — the No. 1 concern for respondents — registered voters picked Trump 43 per cent to 37 per cent. Voters have been stung by several years of fast-rising consumer prices, though inflation has slowed considerably in recent months and the jobless rate has been below four per cent for more than two years.
The Republican had a more significant edge — 44 per cent to 31 per cent — on immigration. Immigrants made up 13.9 per cent of the country in 2022, the highest share in over a century. Trump has taken aim at immigrants in the country illegally. Trump was favoured 40 per cent to 35 per cent on foreign conflicts and terrorism.
But Biden had the edge over Trump on responding to political extremism and threats to democracy, respondents' No. 2 concern, with registered voters picking the Democrat over Trump by 39 per cent to 33 per cent.
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Trump, who was convicted last month on criminal charges he falsified business records, is awaiting three more criminal trials, two of which are tied to his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden. Trump, who falsely claims his 2020 election defeat resulted from fraud, included the claim in a fiery speech shortly before hundreds of his supporters stormed the US Capitol on Jan 6, 2021.
Biden also had an edge over Trump on healthcare policy — 40 per cent to 29 per cent. Biden was vice president in 2010 when then-President Barack Obama pushed a landmark health reform through Congress that dramatically increased access to health insurance.
Previous Reuters/Ipsos polls have shown Biden and Trump neck-and-neck in the presidential race, though a number of polls in battleground states have shown Trump ahead in recent months.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted nationwide and online, collected responses from 1,019 US adults, including 856 registered voters. It had a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points for all respondents and 3.5 percentage points for registered voters.