Essential Report
Interest in news stories
Q. How closely have you been following these news stories in the last fortnight?
The Trump campaign’s ongoing legal disputes regarding the US presidential election
| Total | Gender | Age Group | Federal Voting Intention | |||||||
| Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Labor | TOTAL: Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | ||
| Very closely | 22% | 29% | 16% | 23% | 25% | 19% | 21% | 25% | 29% | 28% |
| Fairly closely | 34% | 36% | 33% | 38% | 31% | 34% | 39% | 36% | 28% | 28% |
| Not that closely | 29% | 23% | 33% | 27% | 28% | 31% | 28% | 29% | 27% | 22% |
| Not closely at all | 15% | 11% | 19% | 13% | 17% | 15% | 12% | 10% | 16% | 22% |
| TOTAL: Closely | 56% | 65% | 48% | 60% | 56% | 54% | 60% | 61% | 57% | 55% |
| TOTAL: Not closely | 44% | 35% | 52% | 40% | 44% | 46% | 40% | 39% | 43% | 45% |
| Base (n) | 1,034 | 528 | 506 | 329 | 320 | 385 | 322 | 430 | 88 | 107 |
Interest in news stories
Q. How closely have you been following these news stories in the last fortnight?
The 2020 US election
| Total | Gender | Age Group | Federal Voting Intention | |||||||
| Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Labor | TOTAL: Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | ||
| Very closely | 28% | 31% | 24% | 28% | 27% | 28% | 30% | 32% | 28% | 26% |
| Fairly closely | 41% | 44% | 37% | 39% | 43% | 40% | 40% | 45% | 40% | 32% |
| Not that closely | 22% | 18% | 26% | 24% | 21% | 21% | 20% | 18% | 24% | 29% |
| Not closely at all | 10% | 7% | 12% | 9% | 9% | 11% | 9% | 5% | 7% | 13% |
| TOTAL: CLOSELY | 68% | 75% | 62% | 67% | 70% | 68% | 70% | 77% | 69% | 58% |
| TOTAL: NOT CLOSELY | 32% | 25% | 38% | 33% | 30% | 32% | 30% | 23% | 31% | 42% |
| Base (n) | 1,010 | 479 | 531 | 250 | 383 | 377 | 323 | 404 | 80 | 122 |
US politician favourability
Q. How favourable or unfavourable do you feel towards each of the US politicians?
| TOTAL: Favourable | After US election
(16/11/20) |
Before US election
(02/11/20) |
| Donald Trump | 21% | 28% |
| Joe Biden | 59% | 43% |
| Base (n) | 1,010 | 1,063 |
| TOTAL: Favourable | TOTAL: Unfavourable | Very favourable | Somewhat favourable | Somewhat unfavourable | Very unfavourable | Unsure | Never heard of them | |
| Donald Trump | 21% | 72% | 8% | 12% | 14% | 58% | 7% | 1% |
| Joe Biden | 59% | 24% | 21% | 38% | 13% | 11% | 15% | 2% |
- Since the US election, favourability of Donald Trump has fallen from 28% to 21%, while Joe Biden’s has increased from 43% to 59%.
US election statements
Q. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements about the recent US election?
| TOTAL: Agree | TOTAL: Disagree | Strongly agree | Somewhat agree | Somewhat disagree | Strongly disagree | Unsure | |
| The Biden Presidency will be good for Australia | 59% | 14% | 24% | 34% | 7% | 7% | 27% |
| The Biden Presidency should improve the USA’s reputation | 71% | 15% | 38% | 33% | 8% | 7% | 14% |
| The main reason Donald Trump lost the election is that many people voted illegally | 21% | 62% | 11% | 10% | 12% | 50% | 17% |
| TOTAL: Agree | Federal Voting Intention | Gender | |||||
| Labor | Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | Male | Female | ||
| The Biden Presidency will be good for Australia | 65% | 61% | 69% | 47% | 62% | 55% | |
| The Biden Presidency should improve the USA’s reputation | 76% | 72% | 86% | 62% | 72% | 70% | |
| The main reason Donald Trump lost the election is that many people voted illegally | 18% | 26% | 17% | 31% | 27% | 16% | |
| Base (n) | 323 | 404 | 80 | 122 | 479 | 531 | |
- Most people think the Biden presidency will be good for Australia (59%) and it will restore the Reputation of the USA (71%).
- Trump’s widely disputed allegations of voter fraud are not accepted in Australia, with just 11% strongly agreeing that the main reason Donald Trump lost the election is that many people voted illegally, and 10% somewhat agreeing.
US Presidential Nominee Favourability
Q. How favourable or unfavourable do you feel towards each of the US Presidential nominees?
| TOTAL: Favourable | TOTAL: Unfavourable | Very favourable | Somewhat favourable | Somewhat unfavourable | Very unfavourable | Unsure | Never heard of them | |
| Donald Trump | 28% | 61% | 13% | 14% | 14% | 47% | 10% | 1% |
| Joe Biden | 43% | 37% | 13% | 30% | 17% | 20% | 18% | 3% |
| TOTAL: Favourable | Total | Federal Voting Intention | Gender | |||||
| Labor | Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | Male | Female | |||
| Donald Trump | 28% | 22% | 39% | 16% | 31% | 36% | 20% | |
| Joe Biden | 43% | 49% | 45% | 58% | 29% | 47% | 40% | |
| Base (n) | 1,063 | 352 | 431 | 85 | 100 | 530 | 533 | |
- Joe Biden is viewed more favourably by Australians ahead of the Presidential election this week. 43% say they feel favourable to the Democrat nominee, compared to 28% who feel favourable to Republican Donald Trump.
- Men have a higher favourability towards Donald Trump than women (36% to 20%). Coalition voters are more likely to be favourable to Trump than Labor or Greens voters (39% to 22% and 16% respectively).
Preferred US Presidential Election Winner
Q. Thinking about the 2020 US presidential election, which candidate do you want to win?
| Total | Federal Voting Intention | Gender | ||||||
| Labor | Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | Male | Female | |||
| Donald Trump | 26% | 20% | 38% | 10% | 25% | 33% | 19% | |
| Joe Biden | 51% | 60% | 44% | 72% | 37% | 49% | 52% | |
| Unsure | 24% | 20% | 18% | 18% | 39% | 18% | 29% | |
| Base (n) | 1,063 | 352 | 431 | 85 | 100 | 530 | 533 | |
- Joe Biden would be the preferred winner of the Presidential election, with 51% selecting him over the 26% preferring Donald Trump.
- Joe Biden has the majority of preferences among Labor voters (60%), Greens voters (72%) and women (52%).
US Presidential Nominee Attributes
Q. Which of the following describe your opinion of the Democratic American Presidential nominee?
| Donald Trump | Joe Biden | Difference | |
| Aggressive | 72% | 15% | +57 |
| Arrogant | 73% | 18% | +55 |
| Intolerant | 63% | 19% | +44 |
| Erratic | 67% | 23% | +44 |
| Narrow-minded | 62% | 22% | +42 |
| More dishonest than other politicians | 54% | 21% | +33 |
| Out of touch with ordinary people | 60% | 28% | +32 |
| Visionary | 29% | 34% | -5 |
| Hard-working | 37% | 48% | -11 |
| Good in a crisis | 22% | 33% | -11 |
| A capable leader | 29% | 41% | -12 |
| Intelligent | 36% | 50% | -14 |
| Someone who will strengthen the US relationship with Australia | 27% | 42% | -15 |
| Understands the problems facing America | 32% | 51% | -19 |
- Donald Trump is seen to be aggressive (72% describing the president as this), arrogant (73%) and erratic (67%).
- Joe Biden is more likely than his opponent to be seen as understanding the problems facing America (51%), intelligent (50%) and hard-working (48%).
- 42% of people think Joe Biden is someone who will strengthen the US relationship with Australia, compared to 27% who think Donald Trump would do the same during a second term as president.
COVID-19 RESEARCH
Read Essential's ongoing research on the public response to Covid-19.
Essential Report
In this week's report:
- Performance of Scott Morrison
- Performance of Anthony Albanese
- Preferred Prime Minister
- Views towards re-electing the federal Coalition government
- Party trust to handle issues
- Importance of Australia’s international reputation
- Scott Morrison’s impact on Australia’s international reputation
- Views towards Australia’s international reputation
Sign up for updates
Receive the Essential Report in your inbox.Essential Tags
2PP
Abbott
ALP
Anthony Albanese
Approval of opposition leader
Approval of Tony Abbott
asylum seekers
Australian economy
Bill Shorten
Carbon Tax
climate change
coronavirus
covid-19
economy
Education
Election
EMC
environment
ER
Essential Media
Essential Report
Federal Budget
Federal Government
federal politics
Gillard
Greens
Julia Gillard
kevin rudd
Labor
Labor Party
Liberal
Liberal Party
Liberals
mining
Nationals
Opposition leader
peter lewis
Polling
polls
Prime Minister
Scott Morrison
tony abbott
two party preferred
voting
Voting intention
Recent Comments
