For all of Biden’s troubles, he’s still more popular than Trump in the NBC News

WASHINGTON — If it’s Friday … Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine are expected to resume. … President Biden delivers remarks on the March jobs report. … A Climate group goes on offense, per NBC’s Benjy Sarlin. …. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., pushes Biden not to end Title 42. … NBC News poll shows Ukraine’s Zelenskyy with favorable/unfavorable numbers that rival Pope John Paul II’s. … Vladimir Putin has numbers that match Saddam Hussein’s. … And none of that is an April Fool’s joke. 

But first: For all of Biden’s problems in this week’s NBC News poll, he has one important thing going for him.

He’s not Donald Trump. 

It doesn’t appear that Americans have buyer’s remorse after 2020. Whether Biden’s election was fueled more by voters who supported him, or those who wanted to cast a ballot against Trump, is debatable. But these numbers certainly suggest many were voting against Trump. 

Trump’s favorable/unfavorable rating in the poll (36 percent positive, 50 percent negative) is slightly worse than Biden’s (37 percent positive, 46 percent negative). 

The poll also shows more voters say they’re less likely to vote for a candidate endorsed by Trump (47 percent say this) than a candidate endorsed by Biden (42 percent). 

And it’s all coming with Biden in office and Trump out of it — when an ex-president’s numbers usually start improving. But Trump isn’t the typical ex-president who goes quietly into retirement. 

He’s still active on the campaign trail (he’ll be rallying supporters in Michigan tomorrow). And, even without a social media megaphone, he’s making controversial statements about the news of the day.

Just look at Trump’s controversies over the past week: 

He asked Putin to dig up dirt on Biden’s son. (“In time, Russia may be willing to give that information,” he said.)

He dissed NATO — again: (“Look I’m not particularly thrilled with it. I figure when you need it, it won’t be there, or maybe it will, but we can get together pretty fast,” he said in Georgia.)

He said SCOTUS nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson was hateful to GOP senators. (“She had total disdain and even hatred for them.”) 

Oh, and there’s that 7-hour gap in Trump’s phone calls on Jan. 6. 

Bottom line: Biden’s unpopularity one year-plus into office hasn’t accrued to Trump’s benefit.

But it has accrued to the GOP’s — with the Democratic Party’s favorable/unfavorable worse than the Republican Party’s for the first time in our poll since 2004. 

Which raises this question for 2024: Is the GOP really better with Trump? Or without him?