President Trump overtakes Biden, 47%-46%, and hits 52% approval

If polls have Trump ahead, then you just know he is CRUSHING that dirty, demented old segregationist.

Trump overtakes Biden, 47%-46%, and hits 52% approval

By Paul Bedard, Washington Examiner | September 16, 2020:

In a polling double tap on the Democratic presidential ticket, President Trump, for the first time, has edged in front of Joe Biden in his bid for reelection, and he’s reached his highest approval rating for the year.

The just-issued Rasmussen Reports surveys put Trump’s approval rating at 52% after a string of 51% marks. He reached 52% two other times this year.

And the pollster’s weekly race review released at noon had Trump nudging ahead of Biden, 47%-46%.

“President Trump has now edged to a one-point lead over Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the latest Rasmussen Reports’ weekly White House Watch survey. While statistically insignificant, it’s the first time Trump has been ahead,” said the poll analysis.

It added: “The race has narrowed over the past two weeks. Biden had a two-point lead last week, but that survey also marked the first time Trump had edged above 45% over the past two-and-a-half months. Prior to this week, Biden has bested Trump in every weekly survey since White House Watch began at the beginning of July.”

Other national polls show Biden still in the lead, though it has been shrinking. Rasmussen is the first to show a Trump lead.

Notably, Rasmussen, which called Hillary Clinton’s margin of popular vote win in 2016 accurately, did not oversample Democrats like many other pollsters do. Of its likely voter count, 37% were Democrats, 33% were Republican, and 30% were independent.

Many analysts believe that the campaign will tighten and be won in the final days of November, just like in 2016, when Trump pulled off an Electoral College victory over Clinton.

Rasmussen said that both Biden and Trump hold 80% of their base. And it said that Trump is attracting minorities. “Trump shows surprising strength among other minority voters, suggesting perhaps that he is attracting Hispanic support as violent racial protests continue in many major cities,” said the analysis.

Both campaigns have been confident in their polling, showing an eventual win.

A key to past reelection victories has been a national approval rating of about 50%. Trump’s average has been well below that over his three-plus years in office, but like Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, he appears to be peaking just in time.

Recent controversies have apparently not affected his approval rating and may have provoked a backlash among his enthusiastic supporters.

And he’s also scored some wins, including the Israel, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain peace deal signed at the White House on Tuesday and the decision by the Big Ten football league to change course and play.

The next key flashpoint in the contest will be the Trump-Biden debates.