It’s hard to measure the intensity of negative media coverage of former President Donald Trump, but it’s safe to say it is rising as Election Day approaches. What’s interesting to note is that in the face of unrelentingly negative coverage, at a high level now but negative for a long time, the public views Trump more favorably than it has since he entered politics.
Asking voters whether they have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of a politician is a staple of polling. The politician is referred to as being underwater if his unfavorable rating is higher than his favorable rating. When it comes to favorability, Trump has been underwater forever.
On this date in 2016, Trump’s unfavorable rating exceeded his favorable rating by 26 points, according to the Real Clear Politics average of polls. That is huge. But, of course, Trump was elected president a short time later, indicating that favorable ratings are not everything.
On this date in 2020, Trump, after four years as president, had gotten more popular. But he was still underwater. His unfavorable rating exceeded his favorable rating by 11 points. Even though that was significantly better than four years earlier, he narrowly lost his bid for reelection.
Now, less than three weeks before Election Day, Trump’s unfavorable rating exceeds his favorable rating by just 7 points. “If you believe that Donald Trump has somehow become less popular over time, let me change your mind about that,” CNN analyst Harry Enten said recently. “In fact, he is more popular at this point in the campaign than he was at this point in the 2020 campaign or the 2016 campaign.”
Read more at Washingtonexaminer.com
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