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US President Donald Trump should be laughing and highly content with his latest popularity rate.
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That may be ironic at a time of national crisis as scientists point to a probable casualty of up to 200,000 deaths in the United States by the time the coronavirus pandemic comes to an end and opinion polls reveal a general rise in support for Trump.
It's definitely bad news for Joe Biden, the former vice president who will most likely represent the Democrats to fight Trump in the November election.
The pandemic is a double-edged sword for both.
With the presidential election roughly 200 days from now, it matters when the pandemic ends. The surge of support for Trump has much to do with the American tradition.
Even though he is roundly criticized by the educated for ignoring the threat at the outset of the new virus disease, the steady rise in the daily counts of infection and death figures has locked the country solidly in a crisis mode.
So, the time has come for Americans to be patriotic and rally around the flag. Attacks on the flag by an election candidate at this moment can even backfire.
It was against this backdrop that a joint poll released over the weekend by the Washington Post and ABC showed a 49 percent approval for Trump versus 47 percent disapproving.
That was a record high for Trump since he was elected to the White House and the first time approval of him surpassed that of disapproval.
Other US media outlets reported similar surges too.
However, how long can that patriotic call last? Will it sustain long enough for Trump to run until the November vote? Or will it vaporize very soon when unemployment becomes prevalent as a result of small- and medium-size companies collapsing due to the sudden disappearance of demand for goods?
Biden's team must be betting on the latter.
According to the Washington Post/ABC poll, Biden was ahead of Trump in a popular vote. However, Biden's lead was greatly narrowed from seven percentage points in February to two points this month. Yet, bear in mind that the election is only partially popular - eventually, it is an electoral college exercise.
Biden should also know that, no matter how hard he fights on to keep himself in the public spotlight, it is bound to be futile since Trump will continue to be the focus for the next few months as long as the pandemic remains topical.
Whatever Trump says and does will be widely reported by the US media, whereas Biden is basically external to it.
The best hope that Biden may hold on to is that, as soon as the pandemic situation stabilizes and fears begin to subside, he's still relevant in the electoral game to mount a timely advance for the White House with a focus on high unemployment and a contracted Wall Street.
It's extremely rare for an incumbent to win re-election when the US economy is in the midst of a recession.
The uncertainty for both is that there's never been a parallel to the pandemic in recent election years. So who will laugh the last laugh? Stay tuned.
