FAU-Mainstreet poll shows Trump leading Biden even as most dislike his brand of politics

A national survey of voters by Florida Atlantic University and Mainstreet Research shows Donald Trump leading President Joe Biden despite the respondents' stated distaste for a centerpiece of Trump's brand of politics.

The poll showed Trump leading Biden 41% to 37% in an unpopularity contest. Trump registers just a 42% popularity standing while Biden's approval rating, at 38%, is even worse. Just 54% expect a Trump-Biden rematch in November with most of the rest still expecting Democratic or Republican voters, or both, to choose a different nominee.

The survey comes on the heels of several others showing the former president leading his successor in national polls, as well as in those of voters in the key battleground states. It follows FAU and Mainstreet's previous polling in Florida that gave Trump healthy leads over Biden in the Republican's home state.

Here are three key takeaways from the latest FAU and Mainstreet poll:

1. Voters favor Trump but frown upon political strategies he has frequently employed

The 42% who said they see Trump favorably were equally split, with 21% saying they had a "strongly favorable" view of the former president while another 21% looked at him as "somewhat favorable." By contrast, 52% saw him unfavorably, with 37% registering a "strongly unfavorable" opinion and another 15% holding a "somewhat unfavorable" view.

In another series of questions, 77% said they frowned upon the practice of calling "competing candidates nicknames," a staple of Trump's brand of politics. Currently, for example, he refers to GOP rival Nikki Haley as "birdbrain." He did call Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis "Ron DeSanctimonious" but Trump "retired" the moniker after the governor dropped out of the presidential race last month.

Another 67% said they felt it was not "acceptable to attack the competing candidates by disparaging their characteristics." And 79% eschewed "disparaging the family members" of a competing candidate.

2. Biden is touting economic progress. Voters see things mixed

Asked if they think prices and inflation have increased in the past year, 73% said yes. The good news for Biden could be that 47% said they expect their "personal economic situation" to improve in 2024, while 38% expect it to worsen.

Campaign 2024: President Biden declines Super Bowl Sunday interview. Trump posts that he is available.

3. Those polled don't care for immigration. But they do like the immigrant living next door

The respondents in the FAU and Mainstreet poll had a seemingly contradictory view of immigration, which has become the 2024 campaign's political flash-point issue.

They were almost evenly divided on whether they see "the effect of immigration on American culture" as positive (45%) or negative (42%).

But when asked if they would "like to have an immigrant as a neighbor," the overwhelming sentiment, 64%, was yes, versus 36% who said no.

Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FAU-Mainstreet 2024 poll: Trump leads Biden in rematch of candidates