Voters Weigh in on Story Alleging Trump Trashed War Dead in New Poll, Say Biden Cares More About Troops Than Trump

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Voters weighed in on The Atlantic story — since corroborated by reporting from 4 other outlets — that President Donald Trump disparaged U.S. war dead and other service members, and the news is not good for Trump. But it could be worse.

The latest Economist/YouGov poll asked respondents “Earlier this week, a news magazine reported that President Trump referred to U.S. service members who died in Belleau Wood during World War 1 as ‘losers’ and ‘suckers’. Do you believe that this story is accurate?”

The poll found that 45 percent of registered voters believe the story, versus 40 percent who do not. Among all adults, the result is split between 39 percent who believe the story and 40 percent who do not — and 21 percent who aren’t sure.

But those results could have been a lot worse. Of those who responded, only 35 percent said they had heard “a great deal” about the comments, and a full 28 percent said they had heard “nothing at all” about them.

And the poll question did not let respondents know that most elements of the story have been confirmed  by four other news outlets —  The Atlantic, The Associated Press, The Washington Post, CNN, and Fox News.

The poll also asked respondents how much they believe each candidate “cares about the needs and problems of U.S. veterans and service members?”

A 52 percent majority said that former Vice President Joe Biden cares about the issue “a lot” or “some,” with 33 percent saying Biden doesn’t care “much” or “at all.”

For Trump, just 43 percent said he cares “a lot” or “some,” and 47 percent saying Trump doesn’t care “much” or “at all” about U.S. veterans and service members.

This poll and the Atlantic story came after a Military Times poll showed Biden leading Trump with active duty service members, 41 percent to 37 percent.