The number of Americans who trust Biden to handle the pandemic better than Trump is increasing


Back at the end of March, when the coronavirus was first surging in the United States, polls showed Americans felt similarly about both likely presidential candidates' abilities to handle the pandemic. Three months later, that's changed, a new survey released from The Washington Post and ABC News finds.
The poll, released Sunday, shows the presumptive Democratic nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, holding a 20-point advantage over President Trump when it comes to which candidate voters trust more to deal with the pandemic. In March, the two were all but even, with Trump actually holding onto a slight advantage. The president is still seen as the better bet to manage the economy effectively, although his margin is shrinking there, as well.
Overall, Biden has a 15-point lead over Trump among registered voters, up from a 10-point lead in May and a 2-point advantage in March. The Post notes that Trump's decline in support is concentrated in states that are experiencing larger coronavirus outbreaks at the moment, including Florida, Texas, Arizona, and Georgia.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Post/ABC News poll was conducted between July 12-15. A random national sample of 1,006 adults were surveyed over the phone. The margin of error is 3.5 percentage points. Read the full results here.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Kirsty Coventry: the former Olympian and first woman to lead the IOC
In the Spotlight Coventry, a former competitive swimmer, won two Olympic gold medals
-
Critics' choice: Carrying the flag
Feature The best barbecue in town, Bradley Cooper's cheesesteak restaurant, and more
-
Film review: Materialists
Feature Two suitors seek to win over a jaded matchmaker
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders
-
Mamdani upsets Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary
Speed Read Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportations
Speed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from
-
Judges order release of 2 high-profile migrants
Speed Read Kilmar Ábrego García is back in the US and Mahmoud Khalil is allowed to go home — for now
-
US assessing bomb damage to Iran nuclear sites
Speed Read Trump claims this weekend's US bombing obliterated Tehran's nuclear program, while JD Vance insists the US is 'not at war with Iran'
-
Trump's LA deployment in limbo after court rulings
Speed Read Judge Breyer ruled that Trump's National Guard deployment to Los Angeles was an 'illegal' overreach. But a federal appellate court halted the ruling.
-
Marines, National Guard in LA can detain Americans
speed read The troops have been authorized to detain anyone who interferes with immigration raids
-
Trump vows 'very big force' against parade protesters
Speed Read The parade, which will shut down much of the capital, will celebrate the US Army's 250th anniversary and Trump's 79th birthday