MSNBC's election polling expert highlights Trump's surge in favorability ratings over Biden: 'A sizable gap'
MSNBC's go-to election data expert Steve Kornacki put a spotlight on the sudden "sizable gap" between President Biden and former President Trump's favorability ratings.
Ahead of the CNN Presidential Debate on Thursday, Kornacki took to X, formerly Twitter, and highlighted data from the latest polls from Quinnipiac, New York Times/Siena College and Gallup.
"3 polls released in the last 24 hours all show a sizable gap between Trump's and Biden's favorable/unfavorable ratings — a shift from most polls this year (and even the last few weeks), which have found little to no difference," Kornacki, the national political correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC, wrote.
The Quinnipiac poll showed Biden with a 38% favorable rating among Americans with a 57% unfavorable rating for the incumbent Democrat. Meanwhile, Trump has 44% favorability and a 51% unfavorable rating.
There was a wider gap found in the Times/Siena poll with Biden at 38% favorability, with 59% unfavorable and Trump with 45% favorable and 52% unfavorable.
The Gallup poll showed the biggest gap between the two presumptive nominees. Biden had just 37% favorability, a low for the Gallup poll, with 61% unfavorable, while Trump has 46% favorability, a high the former president hasn't had in Gallup's polling since April 2020, with 52% unfavorable.
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Another poll that has sparked media reaction is one from The Washington Post released Wednesday showing 44% of key swing state voters trust Trump more on the issue of protecting democracy, compared to just 33% who believe Biden would do a better job.
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"Were these people watching TV on January 6?" Joy Behar of "The View" reacted Thursday to the poll. "This is a depressing, depressing time we're in."
"When people cannot make up their minds between somebody who wants to destroy democracy — wants to destroy this country — the Republican Party will get rid of your Social Security, all sorts of things," Behar added.
The 2024 election is ramping up with the CNN Presidential Debate, which will be simulcast on Fox News Channel, starting at 9 p.m. ET Thursday.
The highly anticipated political showdown will be Trump and Biden's first time sharing a stage since 2020.