Joe Biden has a problem that could end up being a disaster: Liberal voters don’t want him – While Republicans, GOP officials and presidential hopefuls gleefully pepper President Joe Biden with criticism – over things like his age, the failure (in their eyes) of his eponymous economic plan, his supposed cognitive deterioration, his border policies (or lack thereof, as far as many GOP members are concerned), and more – the current chief executive will need to contend with a more pressing concern if he pushes through with his plan to run for re-election next year.
And it’s a problem from the inside: Two-thirds of Democratic or liberal-leaning voters DON’T want him to pursue a second term.
Joe Biden’s Big Problem
A recent poll by CNN revealed that significantly more than half of voters in general have a withering view of Biden’s job performance, with 61% of voters viewing his presidency unfavorably, while a meager 39% approve of how he’s handling things.
Among Democrats and liberal-leaning voters, 67% said they want the Democratic party to nominate a different presidential candidate next year.
In comparison, only the remaining 33% said they would be fine with another Biden presidency.
Liberals have often expressed optimism that while Trump enjoys strong support among Republican voters, the former president polls much lower when then general voting population is concerned. A recent poll by the Wall Street Journal show Trump with a 58% disapproval rating among voters.
However, the same poll shows President Biden having the same disapproval rating – 58% as Trump. The critical difference between the two is that Trump edged out Biden in terms of voters who view the former favorably – Trump’s 27% versus Biden’s 17%.
“Just someone besides Joe Biden”
The is no real consensus for who should replace Biden though, as the CNN survey, which was conducted by SSRS, showed that the general sentiment (82%) among liberal voters was “just someone besides Joe Biden” would do, but no other person the poll presented to respondents got more than 3% support.
The Wall Street Journal poll asked respondents their view of other prominent personalities – Vice President Kamala Harris and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – the vice president had ratings of 33% approval and 58% disapproval, while RFK Jr. had favorable and unfavorable ratings of 35% and 44%, respectively.
Harris has often been flouted by Republicans, especially by GOP presidential hopeful Nikki Haley, as the real president should Biden win a second term, while RFK Jr. is one of the only two other Democrats looking to challenge the president in the Democratic primaries.
Concerns Over Age and Cognitive Ability
While the GOP’s harping over the president’s age and mental faculties are expected, it seems – at least where the CNN poll is concerned – that voters also share the same concerns about Joe Biden and a second presidency.
More than half of Democratic respondents – 56% — expressed serious concern that Biden’s state as an octogenarian would have a negative effect on his “current level of physical and mental competence.” Related to this, the president’s “mental competence/sharpness/senility,” “health” and “ability to handle the job/effectiveness”, each had 7% of left-leaning voters saying that these issues were major concerns for them.
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.
