Biden’s national polling lead shrinks slightly, but swing states show signs of trouble for Trump

The shifting polls come as the economy, health care and the coronavirus pandemic take center stage in the campaign messaging for both Trump and Biden.

More than 6.63 million Covid-19 cases and at least 196,831 deaths from the disease have been reported in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins University. 

Trump, eager to recover the devastating economic losses from the pandemic before the election, has proclaimed that his administration has done a “great job” on the crisis and has repeatedly floated the possibility of a vaccine being developed and distributed before Election Day. His own health experts, however, have suggested the timeline would be much slower.

Biden, meanwhile, describes the U.S. response as being tragically mishandled.

The president in recent weeks has also weathered a series of potentially damaging news stories related to the coronavirus, including revelations from veteran journalist Bob Woodward that Trump admitted downplaying the dangers of the virus.

The polling averages, however, don’t reflect any dramatic change following these reports, offering further evidence for the view among political watchers that Trump’s core base of support is simply unshakable.

But that’s a blessing and a curse, analyst Charlie Cook noted last week:

“There is nothing that could be said or written, nothing that Trump can say or do, that would crack his base. Those expecting Trump to drop at the next negative story forget that it is hard to take a drop if you’ve never risen in the first place,” Cook wrote.

“But this is also why those who are convinced that he will make a spectacular comeback are likely to be wrong as well. His standing is impervious to events.” 

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/17/biden-polling-lead-shrinks-slightly-but-swing-states-show-signs-of-trouble-for-trump.html