Have Trump's Allegations Against Biden Given Warren A Welcome Boost In the Polls?
President Donald Trump's claims about Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden and his son Hunter may have already had an impact on voters, with two national polls showing Democrat rival Elizabeth Warren closing in on Biden's lead.
"After trailing Biden by double digits since March in the race for the Democratic nomination, Warren catches Biden," said Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy, referring to the poll released Wednesday. "We now have a race with two candidates at the top of the field, and they're leaving the rest of the pack behind."
Trump has claimed that Biden should be investigated. He alleges that in his then-role as vice president, Biden was connected to the dismissal of Ukraine's top prosecutor Viktor Shokin. At the time Shokin was investigating someone connected with Burisma, an energy company whose board then included Hunter Biden.
"There's a lot of talk about Biden's son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it... It sounds horrible to me," he added
However, Trump's critics argue that there numerous detractors of Shokin, including the IMF, and Shokin's own deputy resigned citing corruption within the office. There is no evidence so far that has suggested Hunter Biden himself was the focus of any investigation by Shokin.
While Warren's rise in the polls and Biden's slip certainly may be attributed to the current furor surrounding a trump phone call concerning Biden, the pollster also suggested that Warren's own appeal must be credited with the bump she is enjoying.
"Dig a little deeper, and the reasons behind Warren's rise become more clear. She generates a lot of excitement as a potential nominee," Malloy said. "On top of that, half of Democrats want a presidential candidate that supports big changes—even if it means things are harder along the way."
As well as the Quinnipiac Poll, an Emerson College Poll released Tuesday puts Biden at 25 percent and Warren just two percent below him with 23, while Bernie Sanders is on 22 percent—the three showing a clear lead on the remainder of the hopefuls.
Biden himself has said he does not want the comments made by Trump to distract him from the issues behind his campaign, telling late-night host Jimmy Kimmel in an interview on Wednesday: "I am confident of the ability of the House and Senate to deal with this, my job is just to go out and flat beat him."
