The media has been rejoicing recently about President Trump’s drooping approval ratings and his unfavorable showings in head-to-head (theoretical) matchups with the top Democratic presidential contenders. Apparently having already forgotten about those Polls of Total Certainty in the run-up to the 2016 election, pundits are sure that, this time, the polls will indeed tell the true story of Trump’s demise…and his eviction from the White House.
Ah, but not so fast.
A new poll from The Economist and YouGov shows that things are already looking up for the president. With the 2020 field shrinking by the day (both realistically, with candidates dropping out, and obviously, with candidates hanging in there who don’t have a chance in hell), the top three contenders have emerged. Take it to the bank: The Democratic nominee will either be Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, or Elizabeth Warren.
Unfortunately for the Democratic Party, all three of these contenders have worse favorability ratings than Trump.
According to the poll, Trump has a 43% favorable ratings from the voting public.
Biden has 40%.
Warren has 39%.
Sanders has 41%.
These aren’t terrible ratings, by any means, and all three are within spitting distance of the president. But then again, take a look at the media coverage these three individuals get and compare it to the kind of coverage Trump gets! Imagine if the coverage were even halfway to fair – what would the polling disparity look like then?
Of course, that’s an exercise in futility, because the media isn’t about to start covering Trump the way they cover the Democrats. So Trump will have to overcome not only his Democratic challengers but also the REAL opposition party.
Thankfully, he may do just that. In another section of the poll, respondents were asked to judge whether the top candidates could actually defeat Trump next November. The numbers aren’t promising if you’re someone waiting for the end of the MAGA era. Only 32% of voters think Biden can beat Trump; 42% believe he will lose. Warren’s numbers are worse: 28% think she can win; 44% think she would get crushed. And Sanders does worst of all – 46% of voters think he will meet his doom at the hands of President Trump. Only 29% think he can pull off the upset of the century.
All of this is academic, of course, and we’re still a very long way ahead of the election. But it’s interesting to see how gloomy the outlook is for Democrats – especially among Democrats. They just don’t see 2020 working out for them.
We think their pessimism may be justified.
