It's time for another installment of "polls that would suggest the incumbent president is cruising to re-election," and it's another entry from Gallup. Last week, the pollster released a blockbuster survey that was so ostentatiously good for Trump that it felt worthy on inclusion in this analysis of the president's best week yet. And now they're back with more. Americans are getting a lot of good economic news, and they're feeling it in their lives:
Gallup: More Americans say it is easier for them to go out and buy things in stores than before Trump took office, 52-36.
— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) February 12, 2020
Again that beats W, Clinton, and HW Bush by a healthy margin (wasn't asked in 2012).
Going to be hard for Dems to win with this - esp far left candidates. pic.twitter.com/k9w7yarizZ
Ronald Reagan famously asked voters, "are you better off today than you were four years ago?" Faced with that same question in 2020, Americans have responded 'yes' by a dramatic 25-point margin. And as you can see, they're personally experiencing the effects of the economic boom, with a substantial majority responding that it feels easier for them to buy the items they desire. When Democrats try to talk down the economy, this is what they're up against. A few more metrics:
Voters also see the US as more respected in the world -- and safer/stronger in 2020 than they did in 2012 -- when the incumbent Democratic president was re-elected: pic.twitter.com/nONCCzH1fd
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) February 12, 2020
On the latter point, it's an article of faith on the Left and in most of the media that America's standing in the world is diminished under this president -- and that Barack Obama restored the respect that was lost during the Bush era. But Americans see things differently. This question has swung 14 points in a positive direction under Trump, compared to Barack Obama's re-election year of 2012. Safe/strong sentiments were (+2) that year; they're (+8) today, with a clear majority saying those descriptors now apply, up from a narrow plurality. As for measurements of 'credit,' Democrats keep trying to convince people that Trump is just coasting on Obama's economic coattails. Voters aren't buying it, giving the current president significantly more credit than his predecessor for the current age of prosperity.
They're right to do so. Because of his anti-growth policies, Obama presided over the slowest recovery the United States has experienced since World War II. Trump's pro-growth tax and regulatory reforms have helped improve the economy on nearly every conceivable metric, with wage growth disproportionately benefitting working people. The "one percent" rhetoric is a relic. It's a weak talking point that Trump's actual results have exposed as weaker than ever. But -- and with Trump, there's often a 'but' -- the dark lining in this silver cloud of spectacular public opinion data is both obvious and familiar:
It's pretty amazing that with these numbers, we can't confidently predict that the incumbent president would blow out the candidate arguing that things are so broken we need a socialist revolution to remedy them. Such is the unique nature of the Trump phenomenon. https://t.co/Gzk6hpkCZz
— Philip Klein (@philipaklein) February 12, 2020
He should be running away with the election. He's not. And since we've highlighted some Trump/Obama comparisons in this post, I'll leave you with one more:
Uh...guys. This is a stunner. pic.twitter.com/azCY7nMshh
— Chris Stigall (@ChrisStigall) February 12, 2020