If the latest polls are any indication, the majority of American voters aren’t too keen on a rehash of the 2020 presidential elections, A.K.A. another showdown between President Joe Biden and former chief executive Donald Trump.
Trump vs. Biden: What the Polls Say
Data from FiveThirtyEight shows the disapproval ratings of the two at almost the same levels – 56% of voters have an unfavorable view of Trump, while Biden has a 55.7% disapproval rating among voters.
Even among Democratic voters, Biden is deeply unpopular, with a recent CNN poll revealing that only 33% of liberal voters want the Biden administration to continue up to 2028, while 67% said that they would prefer that the Democratic party nominate someone else for president next year.
Trump, on the other hand, enjoys a significant support base among Republican voters, and polls have shown him with a very comfortable lead against his rivals for the GOP presidential nomination. However, a report from FiveThirtyEight indicates that it is too early to say if Trump, while the strong favorite to win the GOP primary, will actually do so when the time comes. The article puts the chances of him winning the GOP primary as “likely” or “probable”, as opposed to “certain” or “highly likely”.
Speaking as part of a panel on ABC News’ “This Week” show, Former Republican New York Representative John Katko said that Republicans should be alarmed that Trump’s numbers among the general voting population are just as bad as Biden’s.
“Trump is not beating him. Trump’s even with him. And so that should send off alarm bells in my opinion in the Republican Party. And if you look at it, you have a group of people that they put Biden against, and the only one that’s got a significant lead would be Nikki Haley,” Katko said. The former NY representative also said that Republicans are potentially missing out on a real opportunity to have an edge over the Democrats if they consider someone other than Trump.
Speaking of Nikki Haley, she appears to be the only Republican presidential hopeful that has polled higher than the president – the CNN poll shows the former South Carolina Governor and U.S. ambassador to the UN leading 49% to Biden’s 43%, while other GOP candidates are around even with the president. Katko also noted that Haley is almost 30 years younger than Biden, who is 80 years old.
“And that’s something that you want to think about. And I think the American people are looking at that,” Katko added.
The Age Issue
The CNN poll also revealed that not only Republicans are harping about Biden’s age – a lot of Democratic voters have the same concerns. Despite repeated reassurances from people close to the president like Vice President Kamala Harris, who only recently said that “Joe Biden is going to be fine”, 56% of liberal voters said that it was a serious concern for them that Biden’s age would have a adverse impact on his “current level of physical and mental competence.”
Tim Ramos has written for various publications, corporations, and organizations – covering everything from finance, politics, travel, entertainment, and sports – in Asia and the U.S. for more than 10 years.
