'Economic President' Trump’s Reputation Shaken... Voter Distrust in Economic Issues Rises Ahead of Election

NYT: Gap Narrows to 1 Percentage Point on 'Who Manages the Economy Better?' Question
Last Month, Negative Views of Trump’s Policies Surpassed Positive for the First Time This Year

U.S. President Donald Trump (left) and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden [Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The reputation of 'Economic President' Donald Trump, the President of the United States, is shaking. With the presidential election next month approaching, voter dissatisfaction has surfaced on economic issues where he previously held an advantage, allowing Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to catch up.

According to a poll released on the 20th (local time) by The New York Times (NYT), when asked "Regardless of who you will vote for, which candidate seems to manage the economy better?" President Trump received 48%, while candidate Biden received 47%. Until last month, the same question showed President Trump at 55% and Biden at 40%, a gap of 15 percentage points, but this month it has sharply narrowed to 1 percentage point.

NYT reported, "President Trump is also losing his advantage on economic issues," adding, "Voters are now almost evenly split between President Trump and candidate Biden regarding economic management." This survey was conducted from the 15th to the 18th with 987 voters.

Throughout his term, President Trump solidified his image as the economic president, leading the growth of the U.S. economy. He lowered corporate taxes, eased various economic regulations, and focused on securing economic gains for the U.S. by engaging in trade wars against China and the European Union (EU). Months before the election, he sparked controversy by emphasizing the need to maintain economic activities rather than lockdowns despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the resurgence of COVID-19 is fueling criticism of President Trump's economic policies. A foreign media outlet reported that in a joint poll conducted with the Peter G. Peterson Foundation from the 8th to the 10th with 1,000 voters, 46% evaluated that President Trump's policies harmed the economy this month, surpassing the 44% who said they would help the economy. This is the first time this year that negative responses to Trump's economic policies have exceeded positive evaluations. Before the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S. in March, positive responses to Trump's economic policies exceeded negative evaluations by 11 percentage points, but positive evaluations have sharply declined.

When asked whether Americans feel their economic situation has improved since President Trump took office, only 32% answered "yes," marking the lowest level since the start of the poll.

Attention is also focused on how such voter judgments will affect the U.S. presidential election. The preliminary figure for the U.S. third-quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is scheduled to be announced on the 29th, and there is interest in whether this indicator will sway voters. The market expects the GDP growth rate for the third quarter to exceed 30%, as economic activity somewhat recovered after a 31.4% decline in the second quarter. Some believe that since President Trump tested positive for COVID-19 and the U.S. economic recovery has slowed, the impact will be minimal.

However, Steve Blitz, Chief U.S. Economist at market analysis firm TS Lombard, predicted, "Even if the number is completely meaningless, it will somewhat increase support for President Trump," adding, "He will say, 'See, we had a V-shaped recovery.'"

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.