Americans Overwhelmed With Trump, Biden Fatigue: Americans are exhausted by the prospect of an incumbent president facing off against the predecessor he defeated four years prior for the first time since 1892. That year former President Grover Cleveland defeated his successor President Benjamin Harrison, becoming the first and only president thus far to serve two non-consecutive terms.
Presidents Martin Van Buren, Theodore Roosevelt, and Millard Fillmore each ran unsuccessful third-party campaigns for their old office after either losing re-election or deciding not to seek another term.
This time, both former President Donald Trump and his successor Joe Biden are both unpopular. The likely 2024 rematch will boil down to which man is less unlikable.
Trump vs. Biden: America Collectively Yawns
A new AP/NORC poll found that 70% of Americans do not want Trump running for re-election, including 44% of Republicans. It also found that Trump’s legal woes had little impact on his core base of support.
It also found that 45% had a favorable view of Biden compared with 34% for Trump.
This time, Trump is running as the first major party candidate seeking his old office while under criminal indictment and multiple pending civil cases against him. Forty-seven percent said they thought Trump committed a crime with his payoff to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Biden beat Trump in a general election 2024 trial heat by a 46% to 42% margin a new Yahoo!/YouGov poll of 1,530 adults found. Trump’s legal woes may be weakening support against Biden. Last month, 43% said they supported him against Biden, whose support increased by a point from 45% to 46%.
Thirty-eight percent of voters surveyed in the Yahoo!/YouGov poll said they faced “exhaustion” when asked the feeling that came to mind about a Biden-Trump rematch. Other emotions that followed about the contest were fear at 28%, sadness at 23%, hope at 23%, excitement at 16%, pride at 8%, and gratitude at 7%.
Republicans view the rematch against Biden more positively than Democrats. When asked if they would rather see someone other than Trump or Biden leading their party ticket, 39% in each party said they preferred another choice. However, Republicans showed greater enthusiasm for Trump with 49% saying they wanted him as their man and 43% saying they wanted to keep Biden.
People in both parties seem to becoming more dissatisfied with the Biden/Trump status quo.
Last month, 37% of Democrats and 33% of Republicans said they preferred someone other than Biden or Trump.
Democrats had a 68% unfavorable opinion of Trump. Biden’s age, not his job performance, has Democrats feeling uneasy about the upcoming contest. In June 2020, only 25% of Democrats said thy were somewhat or very concerned about Biden’s health compared with 40% today.
Biden’s approval rating was at 44%, the highest since last September. His rating on the economy stood at 40%, up four points since February. When it came to his handling of inflation, it stood at 36% which was up 5 points in the same period.
Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson summed up the dilemma for Republican voters due to the fact Trump remains less popular than Biden and that will not change anytime soon in a recent column.
“If they were smart, Republicans would listen to former House speaker Newt Gingrich, who scolded his party after last year’s election: ‘We dislike Biden so much, we pettily focus on his speaking difficulties, sometimes strange behavior, clear lapses of memory, and other personal flaws. Our aversion to him and his policies makes us underestimate him and the Democrats,’” Robinson wrote. “So what does the GOP appear prepared to do? Nominate Trump yet again. Refuse to rethink extreme positions on issues such as abortion and gun violence that are radically out of step with majority opinion. Energize Democrats while repelling independent voters.”
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