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BAD MEASUREMENT: A new Reuters national poll shows Joe Biden is 10 percentage points ahead of Donald Trump. American voters are also unhappy with the way Trump has protected himself against the coronavirus. Here he is at an election campaign rally on September 26. Photo: Evan Vucci / AP
Multiple polls show that Americans believe Trump has not taken the coronavirus threat to his own health seriously.
– Trump has portrayed Biden as radical and too sickly. But in the debate, it was Trump who seemed to be out of control, and now it is he who is out of control. Trump’s entire strategy has hit him back like a boomerang, US expert Hilmar Mjelde tells VG.
He is a senior researcher at the Norwegian Research Center (NORCE).
New opinion polls show that Americans believe Trump should take some of the blame for being infected, writes Reuters. In the IPSOS poll, 65 percent believe that if Trump had taken the coronavirus more seriously, he probably would not have been infected.
READ ALSO: These were Trump’s close contacts before he tested positive
Another poll conducted by the same agency for ABC News shows that three out of four Americans doubt that Trump has taken the threat to the health of the virus seriously and that he has not taken the necessary precautions.
On Friday, Trump’s campaign manager Bill Stepien announced that all campaign meetings with the president will be postponed or held virtually.
Here’s what Trump did the week before his admission – check out the video!
– May cause a “backlash”
Mjelde believes that the election campaign has developed to a negative maximum for the president, but Trump’s health situation will not affect his most fervent supporters, we must believe the researcher.
– But among the six percent who have not all decided, this may have an effect. Trump’s illness has become a grim metaphor for the chaos and instability of the past four years, and many want change, he tells VG.
ILOS Associate Professor of American History Deborah Kitchen-Døderlein says the fact that Trump was infected can have several consequences.
READ ALSO: The week everything went wrong
She notes that it is unclear if the president can participate in the election campaign and debate, how strong he will look, and that it may be difficult to get Amy Coney Barrett confirmed as Supreme Court Justice before the election if more Republican senators they are infected.
– Another important issue is that you went to a donor meeting and exposed your donors to this. If someone gets sick, it could spark a big “backlash” for Trump, Kitchen-Døderlein believes.
On Thursday, the president attended an election campaign event with potential donors. From night to Friday Norwegian time, Trump confirmed that he and his wife Melania Trump were infected with the coronavirus.
– Trump should not be underestimated
The Reuters poll also found that among adults expected to vote in the election, 51 percent support Biden, while 41 percent say they will vote for Trump.
But Biden relies on the support of tipped major states to get the most voters and win the election. According to VG’s big picture forecasts, which is updated with figures from the DPA news agency, it is very even across several states.
Trump has increased his leadership in the much-needed state of Texas, while Biden’s leadership has increased in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
– Trump should not be underestimated. He has always had the greatest strengths and weaknesses of all American politicians. He’s just a few points behind Biden in tip status, and he’s approx. 45 percent of voters agree, Mjelde believes.
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I think the elections are open
Associate Professor Kitchen-Døderlein recalls that all polls showed Hillary Clinton’s victory in 2016 and says she believes the elections are open.
She believes that good polls can lead Biden voters to believe that he has made up his mind and stay home, but also that Trump voters can start to doubt him when they understand that the coronavirus is dangerous. She is also concerned that polling stations will close.
– In some places you have to drive or stand for hours to be able to give your voice. This makes voting difficult and can affect the outcome of the elections. That’s what Republicans expect, he believes.
On Thursday, CNN wrote that the Republican Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, decided that there will only be one place per county where voters can submit votes by mail. To prevent illegal voting, Abbott claims, but critics have accused him of oppressing voters.
Mjelde believes there will be some practical problems in the electoral process, where postal votes will be important due to the crisis in the crown.
– Because voters themselves make mistakes and because state and local authorities make mistakes. The latter is accentuated by apocalyptic rhetoric from both parties about electoral fraud and electoral chaos, says Mjelde.
