OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
President Joe Biden’s horrible month just got even worse.
A brand new Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll found that former President Donald Trump is leading Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in hypothetical 2024 match-ups.
“Forty-six percent of those surveyed said they would vote for Trump over Biden if the 2024 election were held today, compared to 41 percent who said they would support the president. Thirteen percent were unsure or didn’t know. By a wider margin, 49 percent of respondents would vote for Trump and 39 percent would vote for Harris if the 2024 race were between the two. Thirteen percent were unsure or didn’t know,” The Hill reported.
“Trump continues to be the strong favorite among a competitive Republican field, according to the poll. In a hypothetical eight-way primary, 37 percent of respondents would vote for Trump, while 19 percent would back Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), whose support has dropped from previous polls. Seven percent would vote for former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, the second notable Republican to officially launch a presidential bid and first to challenge Trump. The poll found that Haley did gain some momentum after what many considered to be a successful presidential campaign announcement this week, rising to third place in a potential GOP primary that does not feature Trump,” the outlet added.
But it gets even worse.
According to an AP-NORC poll, Biden only has support from 37 percent of Democrats for a second term.
Prior to the midterms in November, the same poll found that 52 percent wanted Biden to run again in 2024.
“While Biden has trumpeted his legislative victories and ability to govern, the poll suggests relatively few U.S. adults give him high marks on either. Follow-up interviews with poll respondents suggest that many believe the 80-year-old’s age is a liability, with people focused on his coughing, his gait, his gaffes, and the possibility that the world’s most stressful job would be better suited for someone younger,” the Associated Press reported.
“I, honestly, think that he would be too old,” said Sarah Overman, a Democrat in Raleigh, North Carolina. “We could use someone younger in the office.”
A lawyer in Michigan, who the AP referred to as “Truckey,” said he did not vote for Biden or Donald Trump in 2020 but said Biden has been a “subpar” president.
“His age and possibly his mental acuity is not where I would want the leader of the country to be,” Truckey said. “He, at times, appears to be an old man who is past his prime. Sometimes I feel a little bit of pity for the guy being pushed out in front of crowds.”
John Rodriguez, who supports Trump, told the AP he thinks Biden is merely doing the bidding of his aides. That creates a challenge for a president who promised to unite the country.
“I believe he’s not the one who’s calling the shots,” said Rodriguez, who lives in Cutler Bay, Florida. “He’s a puppet being told where to go, what to say.”
The AP report added:
Overall, 41% approve of how Biden is handling his job as president, the poll shows, similar to ratings at the end of last year. A majority of Democrats still approve of the job Biden is doing as president, yet their appetite for a reelection campaign has slipped despite his electoral track record. Only 22% of U.S. adults overall say he should run again, down from 29% who said so before last year’s midterm elections.
The decline among Democrats saying Biden should run again for president appears concentrated among younger people. Among Democrats age 45 and over, 49% say Biden should run for reelection, nearly as many as the 58% who said that in October. But among those under age 45, 23% now say he should run for re-election after 45% said that before the midterms.
During an event over the weekend in front of Democratic officials and activists, Biden hinted to the crowd that a 2024 re-election announcement would likely come in the near future.
“We’re just getting started. I intend to get… more done,” Biden told the crowd in Philadelphia. “As of this month, we’ve created 12 million new jobs. We’ve created more new jobs in two years than any president did in their entire term.”
