Americans more polarized on Trump than Biden ahead of November election: Poll

Americans hold more polarizing views on former President Trump than they do on President Biden, according to a Gallup favorability poll released Tuesday.

The May poll — conducted before Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts in his hush money trial in New York — asked respondents to rate the two major political parties’ presumptive nominees on a scale of 1 to 5, if they view the candidate favorably, and on a scale of -1 to -5, if they view the candidate negatively.

Overall, the candidates had the same favorability rating, at 46 percent, and a similar unfavorability rating, with Biden at 54 percent and Trump at 52 percent.

Trump, however, attracted more extreme views. A quarter (25 percent) of respondents had highly favorable views of Trump (rating him a 4 or 5 on the scale) while only 20 percent said the same about Biden. Meanwhile, 40 percent had highly unfavorable views of Trump (rating him a -4 or -5 on the scale) while 35 percent said the same about Biden.

In Gallup’s final pre-election favorability poll in 2020, conducted in the beginning of October 2020, Trump’s favorability was similar to today’s, at 47 percent favorable to 51 percent unfavorable. Biden’s, however, was significantly higher, with 54 percent favorable to 43 percent unfavorable.

Biden’s net favorability has declined by 8 points among U.S. adults since the 2020 poll, a decline playing out across a number of demographic groups.

Biden’s favorability has dropped 25 points among Americans ages 18 to 34 (58 percent to 33 percent); 17 points among people of color (75 percent to 58 percent); 17 points among self-identified Independent voters (60 percent to 43 percent); and 11 points among men (50 percent to 39 percent).

Biden has also seen a 5-point decrease in favorability among Republicans (10 percent to 5 percent) and a 4-point decrease among Democrats (92 percent to 88 percent).

Trump, meanwhile, has seen only a net decline of 1 point from the 2020 poll. His favorability has increased by 8 points among Americans ages 18 to 34 (38 percent to 46 percent) and 8 points among people of color (27 percent to 35 percent). His favorability has declined 6 points among Americans 55 and older (50 percent to 44 percent), 4 points among white adults (56 percent to 52 percent) and 3 points among men (55 percent to 52 percent).

Trump, as opposed to Biden, has cultivated more loyalty in his party, with a 2-point increase in support among Republicans compared to 2020 (93 percent to 95 percent). Trump’s favorability has declined by 1 point among independents (45 percent to 44 percent) and by 2 points among Democrats (6 percent to 4 percent).

In The Hill’s Decision Desk HQ national polling average, Trump and Biden are neck and neck, with the presumptive Republican nominee leading the president by 1 point, 45.1 percent to 44.1 percent.

The survey was conducted May 1-23, 2024, and included 1,024 U.S. adults. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points.