All-America Economic Survey

Biden leads Trump on all issues except the economy, according to the CNBC All-America Survey

Key Points
  • Vice President Joe Biden leads President Trump by 47% to 38% among registered voters in the June CNBC All-America Economic Survey, up 4 points from his lead in April.  
  • Yet voters still favored Trump 44% to 38% over Biden when asked who has the best policies for the economy.
  • It's the only issue where the president leads Biden, who had a 14-point advantage on dealing with the coronavirus.
Biden leads Trump on all issues except for the economy: CNBC All-America survey
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Biden leads Trump on all issues except for the economy: CNBC All-America survey

Former Vice President Joe Biden has jumped out to a 9 point lead on President Donald Trump with five months to go until the election, but the CNBC All-America Economic Survey finds the president still has the edge among voters on the critical issue of the economy.

The June survey shows Biden leading Trump by 47% to 38% among registered voters, up 4 points from his lead in April. Biden benefited from increased support among young as well as wealthier voters, and he consolidated his base, seeing a 7 point gain in his approval among Democrats.

Trump lost considerable ground among independents, suffering an 11-point drop. Those independents, however, did not end up in Biden's column. Instead, there was an 11-point increase in independents declaring themselves undecided.

The poll of 800 Americans nationwide was conducted from Friday to Monday, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

It showed the former vice president dominating or even with Trump on all of the key issues except the economy. Asked who has the best policies for the economy, voters favored the president by 44% to 38%.

Biden had a 14 point advantage on dealing with the coronavirus, 16 points on health care and 25 points on policies for racial equality. Biden even had a slight edge on several of the president's marquee issues: immigration and dealing with China. Though those advantages were small and within the margin of error, it showed Trump is not dominating on issues where he has expended considerable political capital .

"The economy may be what President Trump's saving grace is going forward," said Jay Campbell, partner with Hart Research Associates, who served as the Democratic pollster for the survey. Campbell pointed out that among independents, Trump has a 42% to 26% lead on best policies for the economy.

U.S. President Donald Trump addresses a joint news conference with Poland's President Andrzej Duda in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, June 24, 2020.
Carlos Barria | Reuters

Still, Trump's approval rating on the economy fell to 46% from 52% in April. Disapproval rose to 46% from 38%. But those numbers are far better than his overall rating, which sunk to 39% approval and 52% disapproval. It was a sharp turnaround from his positive approval rating in April. That bump into positive territory now looks to have been more of a reflexive reaction in which Americans rally to the president during times of national crises. It has proven to be short-lived.

Coronavirus, economic outlook

That may be because Americans are beginning to believe the coronavirus will be around longer. Three-quarters of respondents said a new wave of coronavirus infections in the next six months is very or somewhat likely. Sixty percent said the economy won't be fully restored until the next year or longer, up from 52% in April. And a 46% plurality of Americans said their bigger worry is that their state will move too fast in lifting virus restrictions; just 30% said they're concerned restrictions will be lifted too fast, down from 38% in April.

 And yet, Americans remain optimistic on the outlook. While 32% of employed Americans reported losing hours, wages or salary, 51% said the economy will improve in the next year.

While American's assessment of the economy remains far bleaker than before coronavirus hit, it has improved somewhat since April. That improvement has been driven almost entirely by Republicans, who have a net positive view of the economy, compared with deeply downbeat assessments from Democrats and independents.

Overall, Americans see the current downturn as less serious than the Great Recession with 54% calling it an economic slowdown or a mild recession compared with 36% who view it as a severe recession or a depression. The numbers were reversed when CNBC asked the question in 2008: 37% to 59%. And American views on stocks rebounded: 43% say it's a good time to invest in equities and 37% say it's a bad time. In April, the bearish view dominated by 4 points.

Yet one echo of the last downturn does not bode well for the economy and consumer spending: Just 31% believe they will see their wages grow in the next year, the lowest percentage since 2012.