- A new NBC News poll shows Trump ahead of Biden in almost every area
- Polls show Biden is at his lowest ever with just 37% approval and 60% disapproval
- Comes after Biden won the Democratic primary in South Carolina on Saturday
Donald Trump is edging out President Joe Biden on several key issues, and there are just months until the official start of the 2024 general election.
Most notably, Trump has overtaken Biden when it comes to voters' opinions of the two older candidates' competence and effectiveness as leaders. In June 2020, the 77-year-old Trump trailed the 81-year-old Biden in that category by 9 percent, but a new NBC News poll released Sunday shows the former president now leading by 16 points – 48 percent to 32 percent.
Competence has become a major issue in the 2024 campaign and the two front-runners are in their late 70s and early 80s, raising questions about their physical and mental fitness for office given the increasing number of gaffes and missteps on the campaign trail.
A new NBC News poll released Sunday shows Donald Trump ahead of President Joe Biden in almost every category, from competence to border security and the economy
The poll comes after Biden won the Democratic primary in South Carolina on Saturday. Pictured: President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden visit the campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, on February 3
But when it comes to dealing with the economy, Trump is also ahead by 22 percentage points – 55 percent compared to Biden's 33 percent approval rating. Many polls and surveys show that voters are concerned about whether either man is fit to lead the country.
But the biggest gap is on handling immigration and securing the southern border, where 57 percent of voters say they approve of Trump's handling, compared to just 22 percent who say Biden has done a good job in that area.
This comes as Congress works to draft a border security bill that is expected to be released on Sunday.
The NBC News poll of 1,000 voters from Jan. 26 to 30 found Biden's approval rating at his lowest in the history of that poll. The president currently stands at 60 percent disapproval and only 37 percent approval.
It also shows Trump leading Biden by 5 percentage points in a hypothetical election campaign.
The same poll shows Biden at an all-time low with just 37 percent approval and 60 percent disapproval
In July and August, the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee will hold their respective conventions in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Chicago, Illinois. These conventions will officially determine the general matchup tickets for 2024, which will most likely be a rematch between Trump and Biden.
The results of the NBC News poll were released a day after Biden won the Democratic primary in South Carolina on Saturday.
Joe Biden trails Trump by 16 points as a former president among those who believe he is competent and has a 5% lead in a general election