President Joe Biden faced some of the worst polling data of his presidency recently.
The polling data shows Biden is in political turmoil as he begins to make the case to voters about why he should win reelection amid his family’s business scandals, banking failures, skyrocketing violence, the deadly Afghan withdrawal, and with an economy ridden with systemic inflation.
Biden has defended the sour polling numbers by insisting that the establishment media has only aired “negative news” for the past three years.
“I think all they’ve heard is negative news for three years,” Biden told MSNBC. “Everything is negative. And I’m not being critical of the press, you turn on the television, the only way you’re going to get a hit is if there’s something negative.”
Terrible polling for Biden began on May 7. A Washington Post and ABC News poll found that former President Donald Trump is leading Biden by seven points, well outside the margin of error. Breitbart News’s Matt Boyle reported:
In total, if Trump is the GOP nominee in 2024, the cross tabs for the poll show 36 percent say they would definitely vote for him against Biden, another nine percent say they would probably vote for Trump in that scenario, and another five percent are leaning toward voting for Trump.
In said scenario, Biden only has 32 percent who say they will definitely vote for him, just six percent who said they probably would, and another four percent who said they lean toward voting for Biden.
The fact Trump has such a commanding lead over Biden just about a week after Biden announced his reelection campaign is a remarkable turn of events for the former president. Not since the 19th century when in 1892 Americans elected then-former President Grover Cleveland back into the White House has the nation elected a former president who lost again. Cleveland was the 22nd president and the 24th president.
A couple of days later, Gallup polling indicated Americans have little confidence in the Biden administration’s economic team, while the administration refused to negotiate with Republicans on raising the debt ceiling. Only 34 percent and 38 percent of Americans expressed a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence in Biden, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Gallup reported:
Americans’ growing concern about the economy is manifested in their views of the key government officials responsible for economic policy. None of these leaders engenders much confidence now, and Americans have similarly low confidence levels in each. In fact, many are at or near low points in the two-decade history of Gallup’s trend.
Historically, Americans’ confidence in their leaders on economic matters has risen and fallen depending on the health of the economy. As such, if the economy falls into a recession later this year, confidence in political leaders may erode further. However, if the economy improves and avoids a recession, Americans’ confidence may be restored.
The Gallup polling was supported by a recent YouGov survey, which found independent voters are unhappy with the president on a variety of issues. The data, if it remains until election day, is bad news for the president. Independent voters are an important voter bloc that frequently determines swing state outcomes.
Seventy-six percent said Biden’s economy is in bad or poor shape. Just 17 percent said it is in good or excellent condition. Sixty-four percent disapproved of Biden’s handling of jobs and the economy. Just 22 percent approved.
The poll asked independent voters, “Do you want Joe Biden to run for president again in 2024?” Sixty-three percent did not want Biden to run. Just 17 percent said they did.
“Do you think that Joe Biden is the strongest candidate that Democrats could nominate for president in 2024?” the poll asked. Fifty-eight percent said he was not the strongest Democrat candidate. Only 17 percent he was.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
