Democratic leaders win surge of approval during Covid-19 crisis

The approval ratings of democratic leaders around the world have soared during the coronavirus crisis, but political scientists say it will not last – and warn that populist opposition parties, in particular, will bounce back strongly as it subsides. CONT. Jon Henley, The Guardian Read more »

What happened to the ‘rally around the flag’ effect

With the Democratic presidential contest suspended, President Donald Trump appearing daily at briefings and former Vice President Joe Biden largely invisible, it wouldn’t be surprising if the president’s job approval numbers ticked up. That’s exactly what usually happens when the “rally around the flag” effect kicks in. … The president […] Read more »

Why Trump’s approval bump isn’t helping him against Joe Biden

… Of course, most Democrats disapprove of Trump but his current net approval rating is better than it was in December before the coronavirus first emerged. This helps make sense of a puzzle: Why has Trump’s approval bump not helped him in his probable November matchup again former vice president […] Read more »

The coronavirus polling bump is real. But Trump’s is abnormally small.

President Trump’s job approval ratings are up as the public generally approves of his response to the coronavirus crisis. That positive bump is small, however, compared with the bumps for other Western leaders. … Trump’s relatively paltry polling gains are surely related to the extreme level of distrust he has […] Read more »