Former President Donald Trump has grown his lead against President Joe Biden nationally, as three in four voters say the cost of living is on the rise, according to an Emerson College poll.
In a hypothetical two-way race, 46 percent of respondents back Trump, and 43 percent support Biden, the poll, published Thursday morning, showed. Another 12 percent are undecided, and when they are forced to pick a candidate, 50 percent choose Trump, and 50 percent choose Biden.
With the undecided leaners added into the rest of the full sample, Trump leads 52 percent to 49 percent (51.5 percent to 48.5 percent without rounding). Trump’s support is up one point compared to an Emerson College poll published April 4, while Biden’s remains the same.
Trump’s edge grows when the field expands to include third-party candidates. In a five-way race, Trump leads with 44 percent to Biden’s 40 percent, while Robert F. Kennedy Jr. follows in third place with eight percent. Leftist Professor Cornel West takes one percent, and the Green Party’s Jill Stein garners nearly half a percent. Eight percent are undecided.
A collage of former President Donald Trump surrounded by Democrat, independent, and Green Party 2024 candidates, as well as President Joe Biden (AP: Alex Brandon, Matt Rourke // Getty: Frederick M. Brown, Michael M. Santiago).
Trump’s lead in this regard has grown three points compared to earlier in April. In that poll, he registered at 43 percent, Biden was at 42 percent, Kennedy took eight percent, and West and Stein tied at one percent.
The latest poll also finds that a vast majority of voters, 75 percent, say the cost of living is on the rise, while another 18 percent say it is remaining the same. Just seven percent say it is “easing” after seeing 40-year-high inflation under the Biden administration.
Emerson College Polling executive director Spencer Kimball notes that Trump has a 24-point lead over Biden with voters who say the cost of living is increasing.
“Voters who think the cost of living is rising support Trump over Biden, 56% to 32%,” he said in a release. “Those who feel the cost of living is easing or staying the same support Biden over Trump, 94% to 6% and 67% to 18%.”
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Voters also identified the economy–including “jobs, inflation, [and] taxes”–immigration, and threats to democracy as the three top issues. When asked, “What do you think is the most important issue facing the United States?” 36 percent chose the economy, 21 percent selected immigration, and 10 percent chose threats to democracy.
The poll sampled 1,308 registered voters nationally from April 16-17, and the credibility interval is ± 2.6 percentage points.
