Harvard-Harris Poll: Majority of Voters Say Donald Trump a Better President than Biden

Most voters believe former President Donald Trump was a better commander-in-chief than President Joe Biden, a Harvard-Harris Poll released this week found.

The survey, taken January 19-20, 2022, among 1,815 registered voters, asked respondents who they thought was or “has been” a better president — Donald Trump or Joe Biden. 

A majority, 53 percent, said Trump was a better president, while Biden fell six points behind, as 47 percent said he has been a better leader. That same survey also pitched a hypothetical 2024 matchup between Biden and Trump and found Trump leading six percentage points — 46 percent to 40 percent. 

Similarly, a McLaughlin & Associates survey released last week also presented a hypothetical 2024 rematch between the two figures and found Trump leading Biden by five percentage points — 49 percent to 44 percent. That comes as Biden’s approval rating tanks underwater by double digits, sitting at -14.4, per RealClearPolitics’ Tuesday average. That coincides with an RMG Research/Scott Rasmussen survey released Monday, showing Biden’s net approval at -10 percent.

The Rasmussen survey also pitched a specific scenario to respondents, asking if they would prefer a presidential candidate who was a “Republican who supported policies like President Trump, a more traditional Republican, a Democrat who supported policies similar to Senator Bernie Sanders, or a more traditional Democrat.” Of those four choices, a plurality, 30 percent, said they would prefer a “Republican who supported policies like President Trump,” reinforcing the fact that Trump continues to have a firm grip on the party and the GOP’s base as the midterms approach.

The surveys come one year into Biden’s presidency as voters sour on the president after a solid year of broken promises, citing his inability to unify the country as well as the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, his inability to secure the southern border, and failure to “crush” the Chinese coronavirus, opting to push vaccine mandates and masks on the American people nearly two years into the pandemic.