The latest survey from Morning Consult found that 44 percent of voters trusted Trump more on the economy, while 43 percent said the same of Biden, putting the president’s lead within the poll’s 2-point margin of error.
When the same poll was conducted last month, Trump had a 4-point lead over his Democratic challenger, down by half from his 8-point lead on the economy in April.
According to the new survey data, Biden’s success in closing the trust gap between himself and Trump on the economy is owed to a shift in confidence among independent swing voters.
Forty-percent of independents told Morning Consult pollsters that they trusted Biden more with the economy, compared to 34 percent who favored Trump.
The former vice president’s 6-point lead on the economy among the group is a major reversal on June, when 43 percent of independents backed Trump on the economy and 31 percent favored Biden.
Asked what their top issue was heading into the November elections, a third of registered voters told Morning Consult that the economy was the leading issue for them, up 8 points on February.
Among voters most concerned about the state of the economy, Trump has a more convincing lead over Biden. Forty-nine percent of voters most focused on the economy said they had more trust in Trumps steering it in the right direction.
By comparison, 37 percent of the group said they trusted Biden more on the issue, putting him 12 points behind the president and outside the margin of error.
Morning Consult surveyed 1,991 registered voters between July 17 and 19 for its latest poll.
The pollster revealed that Biden and Trump were statistically tied on the economy as Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill continued to negotiate the terms of another coronavirus stimulus fund.
Congressional leaders from both parties have set out possible red lines in the talks, with Democrats pressing for a further round of stimulus checks to be included in the second bailout bill, along with other direct financial assistance.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said a second round of checks “could well be” included in the fund, but has also called for a $600 extension of unemployment benefits provided in the CARES Act to be rolled back.
The leading GOP senator has also pushed for a corporate liability shield to be included in the bill, adding that the provision against coronavirus lawsuits should last five years.
