CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten said on Tuesday that President Joe Biden is significantly trailing former President Donald Trump on economic issues ahead of their debate on Thursday.
Biden and Trump will debate on CNN Thursday with the rules and format consisting of silencing microphones and barring a live studio audience. Enten on “CNN News Central” said Trump is polling at least 13% ahead of Biden on the two “top major factors,” which are the economy and inflation, while Biden is only leading Trump by 7% on the third primary factor, which is democracy, giving the former president better odds of winning the election. (RELATED: ‘Great News’: Sean Hannity Says Biden’s Debate Rules ‘Extraordinarily Favorable’ For Trump)
WATCH:
CNN’s Harry Enten Paints Bleak Picture For Biden Ahead Of Debate As ‘Voters Trust’ Trump On ‘Top’ Issues pic.twitter.com/DFhX3V2cx6
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“All right, let’s run some numbers here. What are the major factors that folks are saying for their vote for president? And look, we’ve been talking about it all year long. Numero uno is the economy, 82%,” Enten said. “Right behind it is another form of the economy, I guess, inflation, 75%. Interestingly enough, state of democracy is number three at 71%. That’s obviously been an issue that Joe Biden’s been hitting upon. So these are the three top major factors. So the question is, who do voters trust more on these issues? Joe Biden or Donald Trump?”
“Well, on inflation, this is where Donald Trump wants to be playing. Look at that, an 18-point lead over Joe Biden. The economy, another area where Donald Trump would be happy to play ball,” Enten continued. “Look at that, a 13-point lead in average of polls on the economy for the former president. The only one of those top major factor issues where Joe Biden leads is the state of democracy. Look at that, a seven-point advantage, which is not half bad, but I think if you asked a lot of folks on the Democratic side, they would hope this margin would climb ever higher. And I guess Thursday’s debate is a chance for them, or at least a chance for Joe Biden to sort of push that message home.”
The Biden campaign has characterized Trump as a threat to democracy, but 38% of undecided voters in six swing states trust the former president more on the topic compared to 29% who said the same for the current president, according to The Washington Post-Schar School poll featuring “decider” voters.
“I looked back at the polling archives since 1976. And sure enough, I asked, ‘Is it always the economy, stupid?’ Well, the candidate trusted more on the economy has won eight times since 1976, but actually has lost four times since 1976,” Enten added. “So yes, more times than not the candidate trusted more on the economy wins. But if you ask Donald Trump last time around, did you win the 2020 election? Despite what he says, the actual truth is no, he did not win that election, and he of course was trusted more on the economy. So yeah, you bat better than you bat worse, but it’s far from a guarantee.”
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