A new poll is filled with peril for both Donald Trump and Joe Biden: With a rematch between Trump and Biden looking likely, a new Wall Street Journal poll has the two candidates deadlocked at 46 percent each.
A New Poll Should Make Joe Biden and Donald Trump Worried
For the first time since Dwight Eisenhower ran against Adlai Stevenson in 1956, we’re likely to have a general election rematch of the previous election in 2024.
Who has the advantage? According to a new Wall Street Journal poll, it’s a tie, with President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump each holding 46 percent support.
The poll added that Biden only holds a 39 percent approval rating, while a majority of voters believe that Biden is too old to run for another term. In the poll, 73 percent of respondents said the 80-year-old Biden was too old to run again, while 47 percent said the same thing about the 77-year-old Trump.
The poll was conducted by Democratic pollster Michael Bocian and Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio; Fabrizio has long been associated with Trump and currently works for a pro-Trump Super PAC.
“Voters are looking for change, and neither of the leading candidates is the change that they’re looking for,” Bocian said in the Journal story about the poll.
While more voters in the survey said that Trump has “a record of accomplishments as president” and “a vision for the future” than Biden, voters were more likely to view Biden as “likable” and “honest.”
“If this race is about personality and temperament, then Biden has an advantage. If this race is about policies and performance, then Trump has the advantage,” Fabrizio said in the release.
The poll also asked about Trump’s indictments and found that while 37 percent said the indictments made them less likely to vote for the former president, 24 percent said it made a vote for Trump more likely. In addition, while 83 percent of voters say they were paying attention to Trump’s legal issues, 66 percent said the same about the legal issues of Hunter Biden, the president’s son. And just 41 percent of voters support impeaching Biden.
The current RealClearPolitics average of the general election polls has Biden ahead by 0.7 points. While the Journal poll shows a tie, the most recent Economist/YouGov poll had Trump ahead by 1 point, while the most recent Morning Consult poll had Biden ahead by 1 point.
Biden has been touting his economic record on the trail, including in a visit to Philadelphia on Labor Day.
“When the last guy was here he looked at America from Park Avenue,” Biden said while speaking at the Sheet Metal Workers Local 19 in Philadelphia’s Pennsport area, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. “I look at it from Scranton, Pennsylvania. I look at it from Claymont, Delaware.”
Present at the event were members of the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), both of which are on strike against the Hollywood studios.
Too Much Time on Vacation?
Also this week, Biden answered critics who say he has been spending too much time at his summer home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
“I have no home to go to,” Biden told reporters, per the Associated Press. The Secret Service has been working on Biden’s main Delaware residence, in order to make it more secure.
“So I have no place to go when I come to Delaware, except here, right now,” the president added of the beach home. “I’m only here for one day.”
“No, I’m not homeless,” the president added. “I just have one home. I have a beautiful home. I’m down here for the day because I can’t go home home.”
Presidents being criticized by opponents for the time they spend away from the White House, whether it’s golfing or doing something else, has been a staple of the last several presidencies. But in reality, no president is ever truly on vacation.
Author Expertise and Experience
Stephen Silver is a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive. He is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Stephen has authored thousands of articles over the years that focus on politics, technology, and the economy for over a decade. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
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