Poll: Americans overwhelmingly feel nation is ‘out of control.’
Four in five registered voters in a new poll feel “things in the country are out of control” as the death toll from the coronavirus pandemic approaches 110,000, unemployment remains at a level not seen since the Great Depression and protests continue across the U.S.
According to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Sunday, just 15% of voters think matters in the USA are under control, and perceptions of the economy are at their worst since the end of President Barack Obama’s first term – when the country was still recovering from a recession.
The polls found former Vice President Joe Biden, who clinched the Democratic nomination last week, leading Trump 49%-42% – the same result as the previous NBC/Wall Street Journal poll on April 20.
Trump edged Biden by 3 points (40%-37%) in the percentage of voters who said they had a positive opinion of the candidate, including a 12-point margin among those who had a “very positive” opinion (29%-17%).
Biden’s 38% total negative rating was lower than Trump’s 51%, and while 45% of those had a “very negative” opinion of Trump, 26% felt that strongly about Biden.
A 55% majority said they want a president who is looking to compromise and search for a consensus, compared to 35% who preferred someone promising “bigger and bolder changes.”
Fifty-seven percent of voters said they want to see the government do more in response to the challenges facing the country while 38% said the government is doing too many things better left to private enterprise. And 51% of voters said they would prefer a Congress controlled by Democrats.