A look at one of the most striking — and potentially crucial — reversals from 2016 and 2020.
The reasons Donald Trump appears to have a slight edge in the same matchup with President Biden that he lost just four years ago are many and complicated. But sometimes a poll comes along and crystallizes one of the big ones.
Such is the case with a new survey from Quinnipiac University released on the eve of the first debate Thursday night.
It asked, “If there were a crisis that put the country at great risk, who would you want in the Oval Office to deal with it: Donald Trump or Joe Biden?”
This is the kind of question that has cut strongly against Trump in each of his two previous presidential campaigns. That’s no longer the case; in fact, it’s suddenly an apparent asset for Trump.
The survey showed 51 percent of registered voters preferred Trump to handle a crisis, while 43 percent preferred Biden.
While Trump holds an eight-point edge today, the same pollster in 2020 showed Biden with a 10- to-17-point advantage on handling a crisis. Ditto the 2016 election, when Hillary Clinton led by double digits. That’s a reversal of around 20 or more points.
