Democratic candidate Joe Biden reached his widest lead in the last month of his presidential race after Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19, and most Americans believe the Republican could have avoided the infection if he had taken the virus more seriously, according to a Reuters / Ipsos survey.
The national opinion poll, conducted Oct. 2-3 and released Sunday, gave little indication of strong support for the president beyond the core group of Trump supporters, some of whom have gathered in front of the Walter Military Medical Center. Reed, where the president is interned.
Trump has repeatedly discounted the severity of the pandemic, noting that the disease would go away on its own. Even last week he criticized Biden for wearing a mask despite the fact that the coronavirus has left almost 210,000 dead in the United States and forced the closure of businesses and schools.
Among adults expected to vote on November 3, the poll found that 51% support Biden, while 41% said they support Trump. 4% chose a third candidate and the other 4% said they were undecided.
Biden’s 10 percentage point lead over Trump is 1 to 2 points higher than it reached in recent weeks, although the hike is still within the survey’s margin of error of /- 5 percentage points.
With the election a month away, Biden has maintained his lead to secure the popular vote. But to win the presidency, a candidate must prevail in enough states to prevail in the Electoral College, and some polls show that Trump is almost as popular as Biden in major states.
Trump, 74, said in video Saturday from his hospital room that he feels “much better” and hopes to “come back soon,” after a day of mixed messages from the White House about his condition later. of being diagnosed with COVID-19.
Most Americans remain deeply concerned about the virus, and the poll found that 65%, including 9 out of 10 registered Democrats and 5 out of 10 registered Republicans, agree that “if Trump had taken the coronavirus more seriously, it probably wouldn’t have been infected. ”
Only 34% said they think Trump has been telling the truth about the coronavirus, while 55% said he has not and 11% said they were not sure.
57% of those polled disapproved of Trump’s response to the pandemic, about 3 percentage points more than a poll that was conducted late last week.
Meanwhile, Americans also appear to largely support reducing the presidential race to ensure security. 67% want to stop face-to-face campaign rallies and 59% believe that debates should be postponed until Trump recovers from the coronavirus.
It is not yet clear how Trump’s diagnosis will affect the next presidential debate, scheduled for October 15. The vice presidential debate between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Mike Pence is scheduled for Wednesday.
The Reuters / Ipsos survey was conducted online, in English, across the United States. It collected responses from 1,005 American adults, including 596 likely voters.
(With information from Reuters)