Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's favorability stands about 15 percentage points above that of President Donald Trump's, right after a full week of Republican National Convention (RNC) fanfare.
The newest ABC News/Ipsos poll, conducted after the RNC, found that even Trump's base were largely unmoved by the event, which saw at least one member of the Trump family speak each night. In the few days since Trump was re-nominated by the Republican Party for the nomination, his favorability sits at 31 percent. Biden's favorability among American voters rose to 46 percent during the same time period.
One of the primary reasons Trump's favorability remains low is the clear majority of Americans, 63 percent, who say they disapprove of the president's leadership during the coronavirus pandemic, with issues tied to racial unrest coming in a close second. This nearly two-thirds majority have remained critical of Trump's oversight of the public health crisis since early July, the ABC/Ipsos poll numbers show.
Biden's favorability among Americans from all political parties increased by seven percentage points after the Democratic National Convention (DNC) the week prior to the RNC. But Trump's favorability actually dipped slightly, including a four-point drop among Republican voters alone.
Vice President Mike Pence is viewed in a similarly dim light, with only 31 percent of Americans surveyed expressing a favorable view of him, compared to 43 percent of respondents who have a positive view of his Democratic counterpart, Kamala Harris. The California senator's favorability has increased by about eight percentage points from before and after the DNC events.
An overwhelming majority of Americans, nearly three-quarters, said they watched either none or very little of both the DNC and RNC events over the past few weeks. The percentage of the country that said they watched the RNC in 2016 versus this year fell by about half. A majority of respondents from all political affiliations, 53 percent, said they approved of the messaging delivered by Democrats at the DNC, compared to 37 percent of Americans who said the same of the GOP events.
About two-in-three Americans said Republicans spent too much time criticizing their Democratic counterparts instead of highlighting their own platform. A slight majority of Americans, 51 percent, said the same of the Democrats, whose speakers routinely echoed the need to "remove Donald Trump" from office.
Only one-third of Americans said they believe the GOP convention held up a fair balance between criticizing Democrats and touting their own party's plans for the future. A majority of respondents reiterated the views seen in polls from the past few months that are widely critical of Trump's handling of the pandemic and racial protests.
Newsweek reached out to both the Biden and Trump presidential campaigns for additional remarks Sunday morning.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Benjamin Fearnow is a reporter based out of Newsweek's New York City offices. He was previously at CBS and Mediaite ... Read more
