A new Fox News poll released on Sunday contained some bad news for Donald Trump — though Trump took to Twitter to focus on the only piece of possibly good news contained in the poll. In a Sunday morning tweet, Trump wrote that the “majority of people” believe that the Senate, currently conducting his impeachment trial, “has enough information.” In other words, that the Senate should call no new witnesses or seek new evidence in the Trump impeachment trial.
But Trump’s tweet was not accurate. In the Fox News poll, 48 percent — not a majority — said that the Senate already has enough information to make a decision on the impeachment trial. But the same poll also showed that 50 percent of Americans say that when the senate makes its decision, it should vote to remove Trump from office.
But the impeachment results were not the only discouraging news for Trump in the Fox News poll. In a head-to-head matchup, Trump would lose to Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden by a landslide nine points, if the election were held today, the poll found.
The last United States presidential election to be decided by at least nine points came in 1984, when incumbent Republican Ronald Reagan defeated Democrat Walter Mondale by more than 18 points, according to the U.S. Election Atlas .
In fact, in the poll, all of the leading Democratic candidates would defeat Trump in the popular vote, if the election were held today. While Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who is currently running second overall to Biden in the Democratic primary race, would defeat Trump by six points, according to the poll, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg performed better against Trump than any Democrat other than Biden.
In the head-to-head matchup, Bloomberg defeated Trump by an eight-point margin.
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren recorded a five-point margin over Trump in the Fox News poll, while former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg defeated Trump by four points in the poll.
Biden has expanded his lead over Trump, compared to a Fox News poll released in December. In that earlier poll, Biden bested Trump by a seven-point margin. Sanders’ six-point lead over Trump was unchanged from last month’s Fox News poll.
In another blow to Trump, his dismal numbers against the top Democrats, and on the impeachment question, come despite the American public’s general satisfaction with the economy — which is considered Trump’s best selling point in his 2020 reelection bid. A full 55 percent of Americans rated the economy either “excellent” or “good.”
The last time Americans felt as positive about the economy as they do now came 19 years ago, in January 2001, the final days of President Bill Clinton’s second term. At that time, 59 percent rated the U.S. economy positively.
