For the first time in the sorry history of the Fox News poll, former president Donald Trump leads His Fraudulency Joe Biden.
This is probably because 61 percent do not believe Biden is mentally sound enough for the job. The remaining 39 percent are not mentally sound enough to be polled.
Currently, Fox shows Trump leading Biden nationally 48 to 46 percent.
Fox has consistently polled on the Trump v. Biden question going back to 2019. Over four years and around a dozen polls, Trump’s best showing against Biden was in April 2020, a tie at 42 percent. Besides that, Fox frequently had Biden beating Trump in the double-digit range. Biden ended up beating Trump (allegedly) in the national popular vote by 4.5 points in 2020. Fox had Biden up seven in its final 2020 poll.
In the previous Fox News poll, taken last month, Biden was up 44 to 41 percent over The Donald. That adds up to a nine-point swing toward Trump: He gained seven points in support, while Biden lost two points.
This latest poll also aligns Fox with other pollsters who show a tight race. Currently, in the RealClearPolitics poll of average national polls, Trump leads Biden 45.1 to 44.6 percent. This is important because at no time during the 2020 election did Trump lead Biden in this same poll of polls. Not once. In fact, not once did Biden enjoy a lead over Trump of fewer than four points.
More interesting takeaways from the Fox poll…
Trump is running away with the GOP nomination. He currently leads his closest rival, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), by a whopping 47 points, 60 to 13 percent. That’s a seven-point jump for Trump since August and a three-point loss for DeSantis.
Back in February, DeSantis was only 15 points behind, sitting at 28 percent to Trump’s 43 percent.
The only other candidate in double digits against the former president is businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, who sits at 11 percent primary support. Former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) is in fourth place with five points. The rest are below four percent.
This is a terrible poll for the Florida governor. On top of being 47 points behind Trump, Ramaswamy, who came out of nowhere, is only two points behind DeSantis.
Currently, Trump has a 43 percent favorable rating, compared to 56 percent who view him unfavorably. That puts him -14 points underwater. This poll did not ask the same about Biden.
When asked if Biden is mentally sound enough to be president, a whopping 61 percent said no, while only 36 percent said yes. Biden is down 25 points on that question. Trump is down only six points, 46 yes to 52 percent no.
In a head-to-head with Biden, Trump is as strong as anyone and stronger than most. DeSantis loses to Slow Joe 47 to 44 percent. Ramaswamy tops Biden by a single point, 45 to 44 percent. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) loses 44 to 43 percent. Chris Christie (D-Blowhard) loses 42 to 41 percent. Former Vice President Mike Pence enjoys a one-point lead, 44 to 43 percent. Former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-Hawt) is up two points, 45 to 43 percent.
Fox News adds:
In the Biden-Trump matchup, support for Biden is down among several key constituencies compared to fall 2020, including suburban women (down 12 points), women (-11), [b]lack voters (-10), voters under age 45 (-7), and Hispanic voters (-5).
That support moved to Trump’s column. Compared to late October 2020, his standing has improved among suburban women (up 13 points), women (+10), and [b]lacks (+7), Hispanics (+7), and those under age 45 (+6).
Independents prefer Trump over Biden by 10 points. In late October 2020, they favored Biden by 20 points.
We’re a long way away from Election Day, and I normally ignore Fox polls, but an apples-to-apples comparison using the same pollster can sometimes be notable.
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