Trump facing trio of crises ahead of November election

Trump facing trio of crises ahead of November election

A Reuters poll shows presumptive Democratic candidate Joe Biden expanding his lead over Republican Donald Trump as the president faces a health crisis, an economic downturn, and rising civil unrest.

This report produced by Zachary Goelman.

Just five months before the November election, U.S. President Donald Trump's hopes to hold the White House are imperiled like never before.

He faces the biggest health crisis in a century, the worst economic downturn in generations, and the highest levels of civil unrest since the 1960s.

Trump's belligerent tone toward protesters, calling them - "violent mobs, arsonists, looters, criminals, rioters, Antifa and others" - has drawn rebukes from civil rights activists, clergy, Democrats and even some Republicans.

At the same time, Joe Biden, his presumptive Democratic opponent, has emerged from coronavirus lockdown with a message of unity.

"I won't traffic in fear and division.

I won't fan the flames of hate." Reuters polling show Biden expanding his lead nationwide... and surveys show further erosion of Trump's support.

More than 55% of Americans said they disapproved of Trump’s handling of the protests.

Of that, 40% said they “strongly” disapproved.

Trump got positive ratings on his response from just one-third of those surveyed... that's lower than his overall job approval of 39%.

A separate Reuters poll this week showed Biden’s lead over Trump among registered voters expanded to 10 percentage points - the biggest margin since the former vice president emerged as the presumptive Democratic nominee in April.

Biden now leads Trump by 23 percent among college-educated white women, up from 19 percent in March.

That demographic helped power Democratic gains in the 2018 midterms. But if civil unrest continues, some Republican pollsters told Reuters it could have a dual benefit for Trump, reinforcing his message of 'law and order,' while distracting from the administration's response to pandemic, which has killed more than 100,000 Americans and led to 40 million jobless claims. The economy will likely continued to rebound from the crisis, though the pace is uncertain.

Trump supporters draw heart from the fact that at this point in 2016, Clinton likewise led the Republican in most polls.