OPINION:
According to a new poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports and The Heartland Institute, President Biden is on the verge of becoming a lame-duck president less than 17 months into his four-year term.
The poll, which asked likely voters about Mr. Biden’s job performance to date, whether he should run for reelection, as well as potential match-ups should he run for reelection, shows without a shadow of a doubt that most voters are less than enthused with the Biden administration and prefer Biden sit-out the 2024 election.
For starters, Biden is deeply underwater when it comes to his favorability rating. In fact, only 25% of likely voters hold a “very favorable” impression of Biden, with 17% responding “somewhat favorable.”
On the other hand, 44% of all likely voters hold a “very unfavorable” opinion of Biden, with 11% harboring a “somewhat unfavorable” view of the sitting president.
Yet, it gets even worse for Mr. Biden when one considers that many of his key constituency groups have soured mightily on him since he took office. For example, only 43% of Hispanic voters have a favorable opinion of Mr. Biden. Among women, just 43% have a favorable opinion while 53% have an unfavorable opinion.
As if that was not enough bad news for Mr. Biden, things get even worse when he is pitted in potential match-ups with two of the front-runners for the GOP’s 2024 presidential ticket.
In a hypothetical rematch between former President Donald Trump and Mr. Biden, 50% of voters would vote for Mr. Trump, compared to only 36 percent for Mr. Biden. Things don’t get much better for the incumbent when Biden is paired against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. If the presidential election were held today, DeSantis would wallop Biden 46% to 35%.
Once again, the poll shows Biden would lose much of the support from many of the groups that propelled him to victory in 2020. Indeed, only 36% of women, 36% of Hispanics and 37% of college-educated voters would vote for Biden in a 2024 rematch against Trump.
However, this all seems moot considering the fact that most likely voters do not want Mr. Biden to even run for reelection in 2024, a stunning development this far into his presidency.
When asked if Mr. Biden should seek reelection in 2024, 61% of likely voters responded “no.” Only a measly 28% of likely voters think Biden should run again in 2024.
Yet again, the poll demonstrates how abruptly many of the groups in Mr. Biden’s core coalition have jumped ship. Among black voters, only 39% want him to run in 2024. Even worse, only 31% of Hispanic voters think Biden should seek reelection. But, most ominous for Biden is the fact that just 26% of women want him to run again in 2024.
Less than two years into his tenure in the Oval Office, it is apparent that the Biden administration is floundering. It is even more apparent that voters are taking notice.
And how could they not? From the economy to foreign affairs, Mr. Biden’s policies have failed miserably.
In less than two years on the job, Biden is already on the hook for record-high gas prices, a 41-year high in inflation, out-of-control crime, a wide-open border, and a looming food shortage here at home. When coupled with his abject disasters on the world stage, namely the humiliating Afghanistan pullout, no wonder Americans are disenchanted with the current resident at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Of course, the 2024 election is still a long time away. However, based on his job performance to date, and the fact that most voters are less than satisfied with his policies so far, it seems like 2024 could be one of the rare races in which an incumbent president decides to not throw his hat in the ring.
If that is the case, we could be in store for one of the most intriguing presidential races in modern history, which is saying a lot given the past few presidential contests have been far from lackluster.
• Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is senior editor at The Heartland Institute.
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