In a matter of days, the American people will decide who should be run the country for the next four years – but do they think either candidate could handle basic caretaking responsibilities?
Data from the latest Daily Show/YouGov poll finds that Americans would generally trust Democratic nominee Joe Biden to water their plants if they were away, but they’re a little less confident in his babysitting skills – and they really aren’t sure about whether he could manage a doggy daycare.
Close to half (46%) of US adults say they would trust Biden with watering their plants if they were out of town, while one-third don’t seem to think he could handle the responsibility. Americans are less likely to want to leave a child in the former vice president’s care: 42% would trust him with this, but just as many (40%) would not.
Americans are also split on whether they think Biden would be good or bad at running a doggy daycare. While about one-third (34%) believe he’d be good at pampering pups while their owners are away, just as many (35%) think he’d be bad at this.
As for Donald Trump, only a third would trust the serving president with plant- or child-care. Around half of Americans say the commander in chief shouldn’t be left alone with kids (50%) or pot plants (48%).
About half of Americans (48%) also think that President Trump (who notably is the first president in a century to not own a dog) would be bad at running a doggy daycare. Only a quarter trust him to feed Fido and look after Lassie.
Methodology: Total sample size was 1,135 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken October 23 – 26, 2020. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all US adults (aged 18+).
