It's worth mentioning that any poll result not showing President Joe Biden with a huge lead over former and potentially future President Donald Trump on the issue of being a "threat to democracy" is a problem for the incumbent running for reelection. Biden, as well as his reelection campaign and fellow Democrats, have made this a major campaign issue, hitting voters over the head about how Trump is supposedly such a threat. The poll results don't look to be in the Democrats' favor, though, and it's freaking out their allies in the mainstream media.
A clip's gone viral this week of MSNBC host Ana Cabrera speaking with Susan Del Percio and Basil A. Smikle on Wednesday about how she found it "interesting" that an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll from late last month showed more Independents worry about Biden "weakening democracy" than they do Trump. It's not close, either, with 53 percent of Independents being more concerned about Biden compared to the 42 percent of Independents who say so about Trump.
"I find it shocking, honestly," Del Percio offered. What followed next was a literal "I can't even" moment. "I can't, I can't, you know, make sense of that number," she sputtered. "I wish I could, I wish I could have some really great insight to it." Smikle sat beside her, nodding along.
"I don't know if it's an outlier or not, because the other numbers with Independents and Biden are going in the right direction, so that might be it," she tried to offer as a sign of hope, before addressing Trump's ongoing criminal trial.
"This trial is not on TV," she pointed out to Cabrera. "You guys do a great job reporting what's happening, but if there aren't those images coming out of the courthouse, people feel like they know this story. We kind of--we heard about it for a long time, so it doesn't surprise me they're not interested."
MSNBC’s @AnaCabrera: “More independents say they worry about Pres. Biden weakening democracy than Trump, 53% to 42%. What do you make of this?”
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) May 9, 2024
Susan Del Percio (@DelPercioS): “I find it shocking, honestly. I can’t — I can’t, you know, make sense of that number” pic.twitter.com/xlc5aigeqW
Del Percio didn't merely express hope that that poll finding is an "outlier," she believes the numbers are heading toward where they need to be with the current president, who is unpopular with many demographics, Independents included. Independents actually helped Biden win in 2020, but despite Del Percio's point, they seem to favor Trump in numerous polls.
This poll shows Biden with just a 34 percent approval rating among Independents, worse than his 46 percent approval rating among respondents who say they're "definitely voting in November's election." Compared to the 46 percent of those "definitely voting" who have a favorable view of Biden, just 32 percent of Independents do. They also have a slightly more favorable view of Trump, with 39 percent saying so, which is not far off from the 41 percent of those "definitely voting" who say they do.
Thus, it's not shocking that a majority of Independents, 51 percent, say they'll vote for Trump, compared to 44 percent who say they'll vote for Biden. Speaking of "outlier[s]," this poll is not one regarding how Trump has more support from Independents than Biden does.
Even with other third-party candidates thrown into the mix, Trump holds onto a lead with Independents, 42-34 percent. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. enjoys 17 percent support from Independents, while support for other candidates and the "undecided" response is in the single digits.
One interesting finding about this key demographic is that 52 percent of Independents selected the response "You already know who you will vote for, and nothing will change your mind." Among registered voters, that number is 64 percent, and it's 71 percent for those who say they're "definitely voting."
When it comes to the specific question discussed by MSNBC, though, it's all-around bad news for Biden. He only has a slight edge over Trump when it comes to the plurality of adults (46 percent), registered voters (47 percent) and those definitely voting (45 percent), who say that he'll "weaken our democracy." For Trump, those numbers are 48 percent among adults and registered voters and 50 percent among those who say they're "definitely voting." As a reminder, 53 percent of Independents say Biden will "weaken our democracy," while 42 percent say so about Trump.
In an interesting turn that spells even more bad news for Biden, adults (37-30 percent), registered voters (38-32 percent), and those "definitely voting" (38-35 percent) are more likely to say Trump will "strengthen our democracy" than Biden will. The contrast for Independents is particularly stark, with a split of 40-24 percent.
When it comes to the Trump trial that Del Percio mentioned, a plurality of Independents say Trump "has done something illegal." Although, they're less likely to say so than the 49 percent of those "definitely voting." They're also evenly split, at 49 percent, when it comes to whether what we're seeing is "Fair investigations to find out if he broke the law" or "Unfair investigations to get in the way of his presidential campaign."
The poll briefly mentions the hush money payments case in New York City, specifically asking if respondents are following the trial "closely" or not. Fifty-one percent of those "definitely voting" say they're following it "very closely/closely." Otherwise, demographics are more likely to say they're watching it "not very closely/not closely at all." It's not only the first to have started the chain of unprecedented indictments against a former president, but considered by far the weakest.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged Trump with felonies in the case when he could have brought the charges as misdemeanors and is using an untested legal theory after the statute of limitations had expired.
The poll was conducted April 22-25 with 1,199 adults, including 1,109 registered voters, with 911 saying they plan to "definitely vote." The margins of error are plus or minus 3.6 percentage points, plus or minus 3.7 percentage points, and plus or minus 4.1 percentage points, respectively.
This is only one way in which Democrats are engaging in election interference and using the politicized justice system against their political opponents, though. There are, of course, the other cases against Trump. Back in April 2022, with that story gaining more attention, reporting from The New York Times highlighted how Biden "has said privately that he wanted Mr. Garland to act less like a ponderous judge and more like a prosecutor who is willing to take decisive action over the events of Jan. 6."
Democratic states also tried to kick Trump off the ballot, though the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled states could not do so in the Trump v. Anderson case from March.
Biden's politicized and weaponized Department of Justice (DOJ) has also gone after everyday Americans, including concerned parents at school board meetings, prayerful and peaceful pro-life activists, and even the elderly. The FBI also looked to infiltrate the Catholic Church, specifically "radical, traditional Catholics."
