Changes in Trump’s Approval Ratings After Resuming Campaign
Trump Focuses Firepower on Battleground States... Gains Momentum with On-Site Rallies
Biden: "Trump Will Continue Lies and Distortions"
Today, Second TV Debate Replaced by Simultaneous Town Hall Event
[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] It has been revealed that U.S. President Donald Trump is narrowing the gap in approval ratings with Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. With Trump's approval ratings rising in key battleground states such as Florida, the two candidates are scheduled to face off in simultaneous live TV 'town hall' events on the 15th (local time).
According to a poll (margin of error ±3.1 percentage points) conducted by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and NBC News from the 9th to the 12th among 1,000 registered voters nationwide, Biden received 53% support, while President Trump received 42%.
The gap between the two candidates' approval ratings is 11 percentage points, but compared to the same poll conducted right after the first presidential debate at the end of last month, which showed a 14-point gap, the margin has narrowed.
In this regard, NBC News predicted that as President Trump resumed campaigning in earnest after testing positive for COVID-19, the gap between the two candidates could narrow further in the final stretch. In the 2016 presidential election, Trump was trailing Hillary Clinton by 11 percentage points in WSJ and NBC polls but focused his efforts on battleground states and ultimately won.
The poll results released on this day also suggest additional room for growth, as President Trump's approval rating for his job performance was 44%, somewhat higher than his re-election support rate. The fact that 13 percentage points more voters chose the Republican Party as the "party that manages the economy well" is also hopeful for President Trump.
Gap in Approval Ratings Narrows After Trump Resumes Campaigning
Signs that the gap between the two candidates, which widened after the first TV debate and President Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis, is narrowing are appearing in several places.
The winning probability predicted by gamblers aggregated by RealClearPolitics (RCP) was 67.5% for Biden and 32.8% for President Trump on the 11th, showing Biden's rate was twice as high. However, on the 15th, it changed to 65.4% and 35%, respectively.
During the same period, RCP's nationwide approval rating poll aggregate showed Biden's support dropping from 52.1% to 51.4%, while President Trump's rose from 41.6% to 42.4%. The approval rating gap decreased from 10.3% to 9.2%, falling into single digits.
President Trump's rebound in approval ratings coincides with the time he resumed public speeches. In an interview with Fox Business on the same day, Trump proudly stated that many people are attending his rallies. Since resuming rallies this week, President Trump has not only attacked Biden but also performed acts such as throwing masks and dancing to music, seemingly to showcase overcoming COVID-19.
At a rally held on the 15th in North Carolina, he also actively emphasized that although his son Barron tested positive for COVID-19, he was later confirmed negative without any particular issues.
President Trump began mentioning Hunter Biden's Ukraine scandal during his rallies. When Twitter blocked tweets from the New York Post reporting on this, the Republican side threatened to summon Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.
On the other hand, Biden's rallies are held while adhering to social distancing guidelines, making their impact lower compared to President Trump's rallies.
Biden stated on the day, "President Trump will throw everything at me except the kitchen sink before Election Day," countering Trump's claims about his son Hunter's scandal. Biden warned, "There will be more lies and distortions."
After Cancellation of 2nd TV Debate, Clash Through Simultaneous Live TV Town Hall Events Today
Changes in approval ratings between the two candidates are also observed in battleground states. In Florida, considered a key battleground state in this election, the gap between the two candidates' approval ratings widened from the 1% range to 4.5 percentage points after the first TV debate. Currently, Trump's approval rating is rapidly recovering, narrowing the gap to 2.7 percentage points. Considering the margin of error in polls, it is understood that they are virtually in a neck-and-neck race.
President Trump is visiting battleground states North Carolina and Florida consecutively on the day. This is already his second visit to Florida this week. President Trump will attend a town hall meeting hosted by NBC in Florida.
President Trump refused to participate in the second TV debate, which was changed to a virtual format, and decided to hold an independent town hall event in Florida, where the event was originally planned to be held in a town hall format answering audience questions.
Counter TV Broadcast Planned After Failed Interruption During Debate
In particular, President Trump's event strongly serves as a counter to Biden's town hall meeting, as it is scheduled to be held at the same time as Biden's town hall with ABC. When Biden's side set the time at 8 p.m., Trump's side also belatedly scheduled their event at the same time.
This has drawn criticism for depriving voters of the opportunity to make a judgment. Especially, NBC, which is broadcasting President Trump's town hall meeting, has been criticized. It is said that NBC decided to broadcast Trump's town hall event aiming for advertising revenue. NBC previously aired the 'Apprentice' program that made Trump a TV star.
Bloomberg News stated, "NBC plans to broadcast President Trump's town hall event not only on its own channel but also on sister channels such as CNBC and MSNBC," and predicted, "It will be able to secure more viewers compared to Biden's event."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
