Presidential Puzzle Trump Can Hardly Sink Lower - But Is On Course To Beat Biden

One has signed historic climate and infrastructure legislation, steered the economy past a recession and rallied the west against Vladimir Putin. The other spent yesterday on trial for fraud, ranting and raving against a judge in a puerile display from the witness stand. And if a US presidential election were held today, Joe Biden would lose to Donald Trump by a lot, according to the latest swing state polls.

- David Smith

Maybe it’s the pandemic, or inflation, or tribalism, but it is increasingly hard to deny that something strange and perverse is happening in American politics. Since Biden took office the US economy has added a record 14m jobs. Yet in a recent Gallup poll, the 80-year-old’s overall approval rating was just 37%. Trump, meanwhile, is facing 91 criminal indictments in Atlanta, Miami, New York and Washington DC, some of which relate to an attempt to overthrow the US government. Yet the 77-year-old is running away with a Republican primary election.