Biden message of Trump threat not registering with his entire base

One of US president Joe Biden’s key campaign messages, that Donald Trump is a threat to democracy, is winning over fewer Black supporters and those without college degrees than other segments of his political base, a Reuters/ Ipsos poll found.

Worries about political extremism and threats to democracy have emerged as being among Americans’ top concerns.

It follows historic events including former President Trump’s attempts to overturn his 2020 defeat, the Supreme Court’s move to end the nationwide right to abortion and a surge in migrants crossing the US-Mexico border.

The online national poll of 4,094 respondents from March 7-13 showed Republicans and Democrats alike worry about America’s democratic institutions and the prospect of highly partisan politicians pushing through policies most people don’t want.

Mr Trump has continued to falsely claim that his 2020 defeat was the result of widespread fraud, a view that a majority of Republicans have adopted.

Of poll respondents, 65pc – including 72pc of Democrats and 64pc of Republicans – said they were worried “partisan state legislatures will overturn the popular vote” in some states to support a presidential candidate.

Even higher shares of each party said they feared “partisan-dominated governments enacting unpopular laws”.

About two in five Republicans and two in five Democrats consider the other party to be an imminent threat to the US.

Subtle differences in views within America’s closely divided electorate highlight a concern among Democrats that some of Biden’s supporters – notably those who are black or without college degrees – might lack motivation to turn out on election day.

About 57pc of Mr Biden’s supporters in the poll said they were backing him to stop Mr Trump, compared to 30pc who cited support for Mr Biden, suggesting the campaign focus on fear is helping allay Democrats’ turnout concerns.

Mr Trump faces four criminal trials, including two tied to his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Mr Biden.

But there were potential warning signs for Democrats. Mr Biden’s black supporters, who make up about a fifth of his political base, were considerably less likely than his white backers to respond in the poll that they were voting to stop Trump – 37pc to 65pc.

Black Democrats were also less likely than white Democrats to say they were worried about a presidential candidate stealing an election or partisan state legislatures overturning its results.