More Americans prefer Biden's response to protests, poll suggests


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
More Americans seem to prefer former Vice President Joe Biden's response to demonstrations against police brutality than the one exhibited by President Trump, a new CBS/YouGov poll shows.
Of those surveyed, 49 percent said they believe the Democratic presidential nominee is trying to "calm the situation down" compared to 39 percent who said the same of Trump. On the flip side, 47 percent of voters said Trump is "encouraging fighting," while only 30 percent think Biden is doing so.
Additionally, 60 percent of Americans, including 91 percent of those who say they'll vote for Biden, would rather see the protests end through the implementation of police reforms as opposed to a tougher law and order response, which only 25 percent of respondents preferred. Those voting for Trump were more likely to support the latter method, but not overwhelmingly — 54 percent said they want protesters punished, while 22 percent said they believed police reform was the better option, and 23 percent were undecided. And, despite the Trump campaign's insistence that Americans would be unsafe under a Biden administration, the former vice president actually held a 48-43 edge when it comes to who would make voters feel more secure.
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 CBS/YouGov poll was conducted between Sept. 2-4 among 2,493 registered voters. The margin of error is 2.4 percentage point. Read the full results at CBS News.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
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.
-
Government shutdown odds spike as House GOP hardliners thwart McCarthy, spending bills
Speed Read House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's caucus is in disarray, and the US is now hurtling toward an avoidable debacle
By Peter Weber Published
-
Firefighters save confused delivery robots
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
'Rates have peaked'
Today's Newspapers A round-up of the headlines from the UK front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Rishi Sunak lambasts China after allegations of spy in UK Parliament
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Judge denies Mark Meadows' request to move Georgia case to federal court
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson dies at 75
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Clarence Thomas officially discloses trips from billionaire GOP donor
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Judge schedules Trump federal election plot trial for crowded March 2024
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Trump surrenders in Georgia election subversion case
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin ally-turned-rival, presumed dead in plane crash
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Mar-a-Lago IT director flipped on Trump after dropping Trump-linked lawyer, special counsel says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published