PHILADELPHIA _ President Donald Trump has closed the gap in swing-state Pennsylvania with most of the Democrats seeking to defeat his bid for a second term, according to a new poll.
But there's a double-whammy hiding in plain sight among the good news for Trump.
Voters give Trump his best marks _ 58% approval _ on the economy. But some of his worst numbers _ 36% approval _ are on health care.
The Muhlenberg College/Morning Call poll landed Thursday. That was just a day after Trump addressed the nation from the White House, seeking to downplay distress about COVID-19, caused by the coronavirus spreading around the world from China _ even as Trump's own health advisers warn of the disease's dangerous potential in the U.S.
Those warnings have sent the stock market _ an economic indicator frequently touted by Trump _ stumbling into a prolonged plummet.
Chris Borick, director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, called that a "potentially damning confluence of factors."
"If the current outbreak does impact the economy, and it's likely it will, at least to some degree, and his handling of the situation further chips away at his poor marks in health care management, that could be very damaging to his standing," Borick said. "I think he knows that. You could sense the urgency from the White House."
Trump's position in Pennsylvania, which was key to his 2016 victory and is expected to play a similarly decisive role in 2020, has improved since Borick's last poll in November. Still, 54% of voters said Trump does not deserve a second term, while 42% said he should be reelected. The poll of 424 voters, conducted Feb. 12-20, has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.5 percentage points.
Only U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the current Democratic front-runner, leads Trump in Pennsylvania, 49% to 46%. Such hypothetical matchups so far from Election Day have little predictive value.
The "greatest fall" in numbers, Borick noted, was for former Vice President Joe Biden, who is now tied with Trump at 47%. Biden, who often emphasizes his family roots in Scranton, led Trump in November, 52% to 43%.
"He doesn't seem to have, at least at this point, a clear message," Borick said of Biden.
Trump is also in a statistical tie with U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind.
Borick found one surprise in the poll's results: Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg trails Trump, 48% to 45%, despite unprecedented spending by the billionaire on television ads and political infrastructure in Pennsylvania.
"Like Biden, he is someone who is pitching electability," Borick said. "It seems that key message is tenuous at this point."
