Trump slips 10 points behind Biden among registered voters in new poll after reports claiming he disparaged troops as 'suckers' and downplayed COVID-19 threat

A new poll of registered voters has seen President Donald Trump's support slip further behind Joe Biden, following bombshell reports that accused Trump of disparaging fallen troops and publicly downplaying the threat of coronavirus. 

The Yahoo News/YouGov poll conducted from September 9 to 11 shows Biden leading Trump by 10 percentage points among registered voters, up from 6 points following the Republican convention.

It follows highly negative articles about Trump, including one on September 3 in the Atlantic claiming that he had called fallen troops 'losers', and a tape released by Bob Woodward on September 9 revealing Trump admitting in February that he was publicly downplaying the seriousness of coronavirus.

The poll found that the negative coverage appeared to be eroding Trump's support.

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President Trump's support has slipped 10 points behind Biden after a week of largely negative news concerning the president

In the Atlantic report, unnamed sources claimed that Trump during a 2018 trip to France had said that troops who died in World War I were 'losers' and 'suckers' after cancelling a trip to a war cemetery there.

Other outlets later confirmed the report, but all with unnamed sources. No one present for the alleged remarks has gone on the record to confirm them. 

Nearly a quarter of independents said the claim that Trump disparaged troops increased their support for Biden, compared to just 9 percent who say the news increased their support for Trump. 

Six percent of 2016 Trump supporters say they have moved toward Biden as a result. 

Asked which candidate shows more respect for the military, 50 percent of registered voters named Biden, compared to 39 percent for Trump. 

Voters say Biden would do a better job leading the military than the current commander in chief by the same margin.

In the case of the Woodward tapes, the audio recordings captured Trump calling COVID-19 'deadly' but saying that he wanted to publicly 'play it down.' Trump has since said that he did not want to create a panic.

Nearly a quarter of voters said that their view of Trump's handling of the pandemic had changed in light of the recordings.

Of those who voted for Trump in 2016, 15 percent said the Woodward scoop has changed their mind about the president’s handling of the pandemic. 

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Nearly a quarter of independents said the claim that Trump disparaged troops increased their support for Joe Biden

Overall, 15 percent of Americans say the Woodward quotes have made them less likely to vote to reelect the president in November, with a third of those consisting of 2016 Trump supporters. 

According to the poll, voters preferred Biden to Trump on nearly every major issue.

The poll also suggested that most voters would view a coronavirus vaccine released before the November 3 election with extreme skepticism. 

Only 16 percent of registered voters think that a vaccine released before Election Day would be safe, while 58 percent believe the opposite. 

An even greater share, 62 percent, say that it’s a bad idea for Trump to push health officials to release a vaccine before the election, with just 17 percent saying it’s a good idea. 

Among undecided voters or voters who plan to vote for someone other than Trump, just 7 percent say a vaccine before the election would make them more likely to vote for the president, while 34 percent say it would make them less likely to vote for Trump.