# A Poll on Biden **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 16, 2020, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-on-biden/851946 "2020-04-16T20:20:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-on-biden/851946/141 "2020-06-05T00:08:44Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > It’s much more likely to be how they felt several days earlier—when Trump hadn’t yet brought the tanks to the streets of D.C., etc. I think that an atmosphere of fear plays to Trump’s strengths. However, to my surprise, Biden is doing pretty well in the two polls I can seeing that were conducted in the last 2-3 days: > **[How Popular Is Donald Trump?](https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/?cid=rrpromo)** > > FiveThirtyEight is tracking Donald Trump’s approval ratings throughout his presidency. [Riots helped Nixon](https://www.vox.com/2020/6/2/21275901/police-violence-riots-george-floyd-minneapolis). Then, those riots were so severe as to overshadow peaceful protests. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-on-biden/851946/142 "2020-06-05T00:15:51Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > I think that an atmosphere of fear plays to Trump’s strengths. > > However, to my surprise, Biden is doing pretty well in the two polls I can seeing that were conducted in the last 2-3 days: > > [How Popular Is Donald Trump? | FiveThirtyEight](https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/?cid=rrpromo) > > [Riots helped Nixon](https://www.vox.com/2020/6/2/21275901/police-violence-riots-george-floyd-minneapolis). Then, those riots were so severe as to overshadow peaceful protests. Yeah, it’s tough to make usable comparisons between the Nixon situation and the current one. For a couple of days the stories have been mostly of peaceful protest. That won’t help Trump, I wouldn’t think. Sure, some voters are made uneasy by even fully-peaceful demonstrations----but they were probably going to vote for Trump anyway. The increasing number of military leaders (granted, mostly retired) who are speaking out against Trump won’t help him, either. They can’t ALL be dismissed as ‘secret liberals’ or such, try though FoxNews will to paint them as such. > [@](#): > > … This week, it was his former defense secretary, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a range of other retired senior officers who were saying in public what they previously said only in private: that the risk lies in the fact that the president regards the military, which historically has prized its nonpartisan, apolitical role in society, as just another political force to be massed to his advantage. > > “There is a thin line between the military’s tolerance for questionable partisan moves over the past three years and the point where these become intolerable for an apolitical military,” said Douglas E. Lute, a retired three-star Army general who coordinated Afghanistan and Pakistan operations on the National Security Council for Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and later became the American ambassador to NATO. > > …One general officer, speaking on the condition of anonymity to avoid punishment from his superiors, said on Thursday said that he was hoping to make it through another day without having to cite his constitutional obligations to decline an illegal order. He said he would not be surprised if he faced such a dilemma in the coming weeks. > > Former top officers were able to speak more freely. > > “Right now, the last thing the country needs — and, frankly, the U.S. military needs — is the appearance of U.S. soldiers carrying out the president’s intent by descending on American citizens,” John R. Allen, a retired four-star Marine general, wrote in Foreign Policy. … [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/04/us/politics/trump-military-protests.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/04/us/politics/trump-military-protests.html) I would expect to see the polls reflect the effect of these (and many other) statements in a few days. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-on-biden/851946/143 "2020-06-05T19:08:46Z")
I dare you to out and explain yourself. ---
**Author:** ![chargerrich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chargerrich/32/5399_2.png) [@chargerrich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chargerrich)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-on-biden/851946/144 "2020-06-05T19:31:31Z")
I am likely the exception here but i REALLY thought Gabbard or Yang would have been so very good for our country. Getting someone in office with moderate democratic leanings, who is young, energetic and not part of the old guard political system. I like that Gabbard served and I like that Yang is a technologist first. Biden is going to have a VERY hard time in debates and as much as I hate to admit it, will likely get crushed in every confrontation with Trump. I just hope Trump has done enough evil for 5% of republicans who voted for him in 2016 to switch sides or stay home for their clan rally. ---
**Author:** ![chargerrich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chargerrich/32/5399_2.png) [@chargerrich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chargerrich)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-on-biden/851946/145 "2020-06-05T19:42:00Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > For fuck’s sake, man. I’m as pro-gun as it gets on this board, particularly as it pertains to the “assault weapons” issue. [Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15910237&postcount=117) [examples](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15913206&postcount=184) [I can](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15913240&postcount=185) [list](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11898283&postcount=194) [hundreds](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21855615&postcount=79) [more.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=106497) > > Giving up your entire country for the sake of some small hypothetical restriction on guns is insane. This man is the essence of corruption, under the control of our #1 geopolitical adversary, systematically dismantlingly United States diplomatic and soft power throughout the world, ruining our reputation around the world, domestic faith in our country, destroying our institutions, and basically wrecking our country worse than any enemy could. > > Even if you want to say “I need to keep my guns to be able to fight against a tyrant like Trump”, then first FIGHT TRUMP at the ballot. Besides which, “our” pro-gun brothers who claim to want to fight tyranny, where are they now? Trump said his “authority is total” and he fucking acts like it. Are they stocking up and preparing to fight a fucking insurgency against this tyrant? No, they’re fucking cheering him on. Right wing anti-tyranny gun extremism is a sham. [Not because it isn’t possible](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=198939) for an armed populace to conduct an effective insurgency against a modern military, but because the people who claim to be prepared for such an incident are among the greatest supporters of the tyrant. > > You’re refusing to cast your vote to fight actual tyranny, in a way that substantially matters right now, so that you could maintain your guns for an unlikely fight against some hypothetical fight against future tyranny that will never actually come because it turns out that most of the people that share your view on this are on the side of tyranny. > > I, as a completely certified “gun nut” gun advocate, would never sell out our entire country for what will end up being some minor concessions on guns or nothing, as given the demographics of the country and more pressing matters, gun control is not likely to be a big issue on the table in the immediate future. If you love this country more than you love guns, neither should you. > > And we’re not talking about “choose between your country and your guns”, because total gun bans are not on the agenda. We’re talking about saving your country vs some possible hypothetical minor action on guns. This is a trivially easy call, and you are derelict in your duty as an American to sit this one out because of this issue. It would be impossible for me to agree with this any more. I am a democrat who lives on a farm, drives a diesel F450 and has an arsenal of weapons. No democratic policies will EVER take our guns. It is a GOP/NRA scare tactic that sadly works on far too many gun owners who think you have to be GOP lock and step to keep your guns and it is just not true. Let me also add that i find the “its a slippery slope and one step to taking away our guns” arguments against background checks and gun safety idiotic. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-on-biden/851946/146 "2020-06-05T20:07:12Z")
> [@chargerrich](#): > > … > > Biden is going to have a VERY hard time in debates and as much as I hate to admit it, will likely get crushed in every confrontation with Trump… Altho Biden just did Ok in the debates against other Dems, how on earth do you think TRUMP will do well against him? Trump will shoot himself in the foot at every opportunity. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-on-biden/851946/147 "2020-06-05T20:23:30Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Altho Biden just did Ok in the debates against other Dems, how on earth do you think TRUMP will do well against him? Trump will shoot himself in the foot at every opportunity. Remember those Clinton vs. Trump debates? I remember Clinton winning every one, but the public did not agree with me. It was pretty even in the end on public opinion over who won. I wouldn’t count on Biden winning the debates (if they happen) as counting for much. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-on-biden/851946/148 "2020-06-05T20:25:52Z")
Trump will not debate, I would put money on it. He just won’t. People will say “this violates norms!” and then realize how silly that sounds after Trump has already violated a million norms. His campaign may attempt to re-frame it as Biden being unwilling to debate - maybe Trump will agree to debate on Fox News, hosted by Tucker Carlson, while having a mute button for Biden’s mic - and if Biden refuses that, Trump will claim it’s him running from the debate, but in any case, we are not going to see Biden-Trump debates. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-on-biden/851946/149 "2020-06-05T20:54:28Z")
> [@chargerrich](#): > > Biden is going to have a VERY hard time in debates and as much as I hate to admit it, will likely get crushed in every confrontation with Trump. Guess you don’t remember Trump’s debating “skills.” Here’s a reminder: He didn’t win because of them. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-on-biden/851946/150 "2020-06-08T14:37:49Z")
Missed this poll when it first came out; my answer is “third party”, as in 2016. I will add that Buttigieg and Gabbard are the first Democrats I’ve ever seriously considered voting for. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-on-biden/851946/151 "2020-06-17T14:15:01Z")
[NPR is reporting](https://www.npr.org/2020/06/17/877951588/2020-electoral-map-ratings-biden-has-an-edge-over-trump-with-5-months-to-go) > [@](#): > > 2020 Electoral Map Ratings: **Biden Has An Edge** Over Trump, With 5 Months To Go It is an excellent article. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-on-biden/851946/152 "2020-06-17T14:35:54Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > [NPR is reporting](https://www.npr.org/2020/06/17/877951588/2020-electoral-map-ratings-biden-has-an-edge-over-trump-with-5-months-to-go) > > It is an excellent article. And one that people who think Trump is toast should definitely read. It’s still a competitive race in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Florida, and N. Carolina among others. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-on-biden/851946/153 "2020-06-17T18:16:53Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > And one that people who think Trump is toast should definitely read. It’s still a competitive race in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Florida, and N. Carolina among others. I don’t know anyone who thinks that. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-on-biden/851946/154 "2020-06-17T18:37:30Z")
Biden’s trashing the orange mess right now in Darby, PA, in speech. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-on-biden/851946/155 "2020-06-17T22:11:40Z")
> [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](#): > > I don’t know anyone who thinks that. Didn’t read the article, did you? > [@](#): > > There are eight states that are toss-ups, plus one electoral vote in Maine, for 114 electoral votes — Florida (29 electoral votes), Pennsylvania (20), Ohio (18), North Carolina (15), Arizona (11), Wisconsin (10), Nevada (6), New Hampshire (4) and one electoral vote in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-on-biden/851946/156 "2020-06-17T23:15:52Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Didn’t read the article, did you? I did. Can you point out where it says “Trump is toast,” because I missed it. Your excerpt certainly doesn’t say it. Please note I was commenting on what you said people “think.” Maybe that’s the confusion here? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-on-biden/851946/157 "2020-06-17T23:17:50Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2020, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-on-biden/851946/158 "2020-06-18T00:18:05Z")
> [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](#): > > I did. Can you point out where it says “Trump is toast,” because I missed it. Your excerpt certainly doesn’t say it. > > Please note I was commenting on what you said people “think.” Maybe that’s the confusion here? Indeed, that’s the confusion. I thought you were responding to the second half of my post, and that you didn’t think those states were actually toss-ups. Glad we got that straightened out.🆒 ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2020, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-on-biden/851946/159 "2020-06-22T03:40:16Z")
Biden was my 168th choice just after Ted Bundy. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2020, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-on-biden/851946/160 "2020-06-22T14:02:31Z")
| **Race/Topic** | **Poll** | **Results** | **Spread** | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Michigan: Trump vs. Biden](https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/mi/michigan_trump_vs_biden-6761.html) | [Trafalgar Group (R)](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1F4fied1xg_S7mIBdgHQHC1t98cYys2ez/view) | [Biden 46, Trump 45](https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/mi/michigan_trump_vs_biden-6761.html) | Biden +1 | | [Minnesota: Trump vs. Biden](https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/mn/minnesota_trump_vs_biden-6966.html) | [Gravis](https://www.gravismarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Minnesota-June-19-2020.pdf) | [Biden 58, Trump 42](https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/mn/minnesota_trump_vs_biden-6966.html) | Biden +16 | | [North Carolina: Trump vs. Biden](https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/nc/north_carolina_trump_vs_biden-6744.html) | [Gravis](https://www.realclearpolitics.com/docs/2020/North_Carolina_OAN_Gravis_June_2020.pdf) | [Trump 46, Biden 43](https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/nc/north_carolina_trump_vs_biden-6744.html) | Trump +3 | | [New Hampshire: Trump vs. Biden](https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/nh/new_hampshire_trump_vs_biden-6779.html) | [St. Anselm](https://www.anselm.edu/sites/default/files/Documents/NHIOP/Polls/June%202020%20Survey.pdf) | [Biden 49, Trump 42](https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/nh/new_hampshire_trump_vs_biden-6779.html) | Biden +7 | A real Table feature, sweet! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-on-biden/851946.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-on-biden/851946.md?page=9)