President Donald Trump is trailing Joe Biden nationally and in most swing states. He trails on questions of character, the coronavirus, health care, and even crime.
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According to Yahoo News, most voters think that Biden is more empathetic, honest, and more trustworthy than Trump. But when it comes to the economy, Americans in battleground states continue to put their faith in Trump.
As Election Day nears, Biden supporters are becoming nervous about Trump’s edge on the economy, and they’re worried that the president could use his advantage to nail down swing voters. Surprisingly, Trump’s lead in battleground states persists. That’s despite an 8.4% unemployment rate during a recession that Democrats say has worsened due to Trump’s mishandling of the pandemic.
“I do think there’s work to do here in connecting the dots,” said Hari Sevugan, a Democratic campaign veteran who worked for President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign. “We need to do a better job of showing that a failure to deal with the pandemic was a failure to look out for the economy.”
Regarding which candidate is best at handling the economy, a new poll by Marquette Law School shows Trump leading Biden by 8 points in Wisconsin, 13 points in Florida, and 10 points in Pennsylvania.
“We’ve done a really good job saying Trump is incompetent at handling just about every other issue,” Sevugan said. “The only thing that is his escape hatch is his handling of the economy.”
Rick Tyler, a Republican strategist, and outspoken Trump critic said the president has an advantage on the economy because he has repeatedly told the public “ad nauseam” that he built the greatest economy in history.
“It’s all smoke and mirrors,” Tyler said. “It is a false story, but, nevertheless when there are no facts being offered to refute it, it becomes a truth. “
Yahoo News reports that in fact, The Trump administration inherited a healthy economy from Obama and took unearned credit for its stability. While the pandemic eliminated jobs in retail, travel hospitality, sports, and associated industries, the unexpected jobs recovery in August in some sectors is something Trump took credit for as well.
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“If President Trump is going to win four more years, it is because voters are hopeful about the future, not fearful,” says Liam Donavan a former GOP strategist who’s now a lobbyist. “After a bumpy 2020, people are looking for some semblance of normalcy or at least hope. The recent jobs numbers and anticipated GDP data could easily be worked into the argument that things are under control and moving in that direction.”
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