TOPLINE
Pro-Trump cable news channel One America News has pulled a report based on a poll showing unfavorable numbers for the president that it had hoped would serve as a counterweight to a flurry of recent polls showing Biden leading the presidential race by wide margins.
WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 11: U.S. President Donald Trump walks to Marine One in the rain on the South … [+] Lawn of the White House on June 11, 2020 in Washington, DC. Later today, President Trump was scheduled to meet with pastors, law enforcement officials and small business owners at a church in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
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KEY FACTS
OANN founder Robert Herring on Wednesday tweeted that “later today, OANN will be releasing a poll concerning the presidential race,” which he said “looks as though it will be in favor of Donald Trump.”
The poll was conducted by Gravis Marketing and showed Biden and Trump tied in Florida, 50% to 50%, with Trump leading among undecided voters by 6 points, 53% to 47%.
The poll was presented as positive for Trump by OANN reporter Kristian Rouz, who said it showed “rising support” and framed it as a contradiction to most polls of the Sunshine State, which show Biden leading.
But, as the Washington Post’s Philip Bump pointed out, the poll pushed undecided voters to commit to a candidate, meaning that, to get to 50% for each candidate, Biden must have been leading among decided voters, a stat that was not presented in OANN’s report.
Journalist Arieh Kovler noted that shortly after OANN’s report was posted to YouTube, it was deleted, while a tweet from Herring announcing the poll was also deleted.
Key Background
Trump has been mired in sagging poll numbers in recent weeks as the coronavirus pandemic and civil unrest have gripped the nation. Biden leads by 8 points in the RealClearPolitics average, his largest margin since November. A recent CNN poll also showed Trump trailing Biden by a staggering 14 point margin, which the Trump campaign pushed back on in a letter to CNN in which they demanded a retraction and an apology.
Big Number
3.4%. Biden leads in Florida by 3.4% in the RealClearPolitics average. He also leads by 3.4% in Wisconsin, 3.3% in Pennsylvania, 7.3% in Michigan, and 3.4% in Arizona, which has only voted Democratic once in the last 70 years.
News Peg
Trump’s poll numbers show that he has been significantly damaged by his coronavirus response, damage that was exacerbated to his response to the aftermath of George Floyd’s death. A recent Reuters poll found that just 33% of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s handling of the recent unrest.
