Two in three Singaporeans want Biden as next US President: YouGov survey
SINGAPORE — Support for US presidential contender Joe Biden is the strongest in Singapore among eight countries and regions in the Asia-Pacific area, a new survey has found.
Findings released on Thursday (15 October), from a study by UK-based research firm YouGov, showed that 66 per cent of Singaporean respondents want Biden to win the US2020 presidential election – set to take place on 3 November – while 12 per cent want Trump to emerge victorious. The remaining 22 per cent said they did not know who they want to win.
Almost seven in 10 Singaporeans also felt that US President Donald Trump’s performance during his four-year stint was “terrible” or “poor”.
The study polled 1,011 Singaporeans via YouGov’s Omnibus online research service between 24 September to 5 October. A total of 10,386 respondents were polled across the Asia Pacific region, including those from Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Australia.
Most respondents across the board shared similar sentiments about their choice for the US’ 46th president, except for those in Taiwan. Forty-two per cent of Taiwanese respondents want Trump to win the election, as opposed to 30 per cent who want Biden to emerge victorious.
Trump’s next strongest base is in Hong Kong, where he is preferred by 36 per cent of respondents to the former Vice President’s 42 per cent. He is the least popular in Malaysia, with only nine per cent preferring him.
Trump mostly ‘terrible’ president; unsure of Biden’s performance
Findings also showed that across the surveyed APAC region, Trump is more likely to be seen as a “terrible” or “poor” president.
In his best showing, some six in 10 respondents in both Taiwan and the Philippines see Trump’s performance as president as “great”, “good” or “average” compared to three in 10 who felt his performance was “terrible” or “poor”.
Biden is generally seen across the board as likely to be average or better, with an overall majority of respondents in every place surveyed rating him “great”, “good” or “average”.
Findings showed, however, that more Hong Kongers view him negatively than positively: 20 per cent to 12 cent.
More respondents across the surveyed region – 24 to 42 per cent – also said that they do not know what kind of president Biden would be, compared to six to 15 per cent expressing the same of Trump.
When it comes to Trump’s impact on their lives, where they live and the world, responses are largely negative, with some exceptions.
For instance, 45 per cent of Taiwanese respondents think Trump is more likely to have had a positive impact on Taiwan, compared to 33 per cent who think he has had a negative impact.
In comparison, these respondents remain on the fence when it comes to whether Biden’s impact would be positive (26 per cent) or negative (28 per cent). They are also divided on the impact Trump has had on themselves personally, with 27 per cent thinking it has been good and 29 per cent feeling it has been bad.
Findings across the board also showed that when it comes to Biden, the expectation is that – should he become president – his impact will be more positive than negative.
“Again, Taiwan and Hong Kong are the exceptions, with people in both places being split on whether the impact on themselves personally or where they live would be good or bad,” said YouGov.
For instance, 42 per cent of Taiwanese respondents see Trump as the candidate more likely to improve US-Taiwan relations, as compared to 14 per cent for Biden, and are similarly likely to think he will strengthen the US economy.
Hong Kongers also see Trump as the superior choice for the US economy, with 34 per cent in support of him compared to 19 per cent for Biden.
“Everywhere else, and on all five topics... asked about – international relations, climate change, coronavirus, economics and peace – people tend to think Biden would do a better job than Trump,” said YouGov.
A Reuters/Ipsos national poll in US found that Biden leads Trump among the likely voters in the US by 10 percentage points. The 9-13 October poll showed that 51 per cent of likely voters were supporting Biden, while 41 per cent were backing Trump.
Last week’s national poll had Biden ahead by 12 points.
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