Trump jumps ahead of Biden in new NBC poll
A surging Donald Trump would beat President Biden if the election were held today, a new NBC News poll states.
The weekend tally shows Trump up 47% to 42%, still within the margin of error but with two key factors that do not bode well for Biden.
The NBC poll shows Biden losing ground on the economy and immigration, where he comes in second to Trump 20 points and 30 points down, respectively.
“Four years, we had no wars. We defeated ISIS … We had the greatest economy in the history of our country … We did a job that few people have ever done,” Trump posted to his TruthSocial account Sunday.
Trump was all over the news as he appeared on Fox and all the political shows ran with the stunning jump he just made in a head-to-head survey.
“This is the biggest lead NBC has ever had in 16 polls for Donald Trump over Joe Biden,” NBC’s political correspondent Steve Kornacki told “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
Biden, the poll also shows, has dropped like a rock in his approval rating that now stands at an anemic 37%.
“Look how low Biden’s number is?” Kornacki added, saying an improving economy could still help the president.
Independent voters also favor Trump heavily. If Trump is found guilty of a felony, that could really hurt Trump’s support. But Kornacki cautioned that “hypotheticals” don’t poll well.
NBC sampled 1,000 registered voters for the poll taken from Jan. 26 to 30. The margin of error was 3.1%.
Former US ambassador to the UN and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley bested Biden 45% to 36% in the survey, the New York Post noted.
Trump seized on the poll news in a Fox News appearance Sunday, where he name-dropped Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as potential running mates.
“Always it’s got to be one thing, it’s got to be someone who would be a good president,” Trump said, adding he has not made a decision yet.
Trump did say he did not reach out to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to talk about the vice presidency.
As for the border crisis that is now hitting cities all over the country — including Boston — he teased he may stage rallies in New York City where the cost of housing migrants has the NYC Mayor Eric Adams firing back at the Biden administration.
“Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo asked Trump if he believes he could flip blue states like New York and New Jersey, noting there is a rumor he is planning a rally in the South Bronx.
“Yeah, I think I will do that,” Fox reported Trump said of the South Bronx rally. “And I think I’ll do one maybe at Madison Square Garden.”
He agreed New Jersey, Virginia, New Mexico, and Minnesota can be flipped. “I’m not even sure that everything can’t be flipped,” he added.
Biden did win the South Carolina primary easily Saturday, but that may not be enough to win re-election.
As The Hill pointed out, Trump also holds a 23 point lead over Biden in having the necessary mental and physical health to be president.
Biden is 81, Trump 77.
Biden edges Trump by 2 points in the NBC poll over who would better protect democracy. Biden tops Trump by 12 points when it comes to dealing with abortion.