Gallup says Biden enters 2024 race at ‘weakest point’ of his presidency

NEWS AND OPINION:

A major pollster has less than promising news for President Biden, and of interest to voters. It is straightforward enough. Here’s what Gallup has to say:

“As Joe Biden begins his reelection campaign, his job approval rating among the U.S. public has slipped to 37%, the lowest Gallup has measured for him to date. Biden’s job approval has been in the low 40% range for most of the past 19 months, apart from the current reading and a 38% score last July,” Gallup senior editor Jeffrey M. Jones noted in a meticulous analysis.

“Biden’s latest approval rating is from an April 3-25 Gallup poll, which was completed the day he announced he will seek reelection, and marks a three percentage point dip from March and a five percentage point drop from February,” Mr. Jones wrote.

The poll sampled the opinions of 1,013 U.S. adults.

“This decline has pulled down Biden’s job approval average for his recently completed ninth quarter in office, which spanned Jan. 20 through April 19, to 39.7%, the lowest quarterly average in his presidency,” he said.

“Biden’s decision to seek a second term comes at the weakest point in his presidency, according to his Gallup job approval ratings. His support has mainly been stuck in the low 40% range since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Now it has fallen below the 40% mark for just the second time in his presidency, as Americans’ confidence in the economy slips further,” Mr. Jones later observed.

PROGRESSIVES TARGET ‘MAGA’

Is it perhaps a harbinger of the presidential race to come?

MoveOn — the progressive and aggressive activist organization — has forged ahead and endorsed President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in their quest for reelection.

“In the organization’s 25-year history, it is the earliest MoveOn members have ever endorsed in a presidential contest,” the group said in a written statement released Sunday and shared with Inside the Beltway.

It clearly specifies a primary motivation for their early endorsement — former President Donald Trump’s traditional motto “Make America Great Again,” long since shortened to the acronym MAGA. That is their symbolic foe.

“President Biden and Vice President Harris have done what millions of MoveOn members sent them to Washington to do: protect our rights and freedoms and blunt right-wing extremism. This moment requires urgency to solidify behind President Biden and show unified resolve to defeat MAGA and build on the progress of the last two years. Each day we wait to define the MAGA right-wing extremists who are running for the Republican nomination is a day wasted,” said Rahna Epting, MoveOn executive director, also in a written statement.

She called the Biden agenda “among the most progressive in a generation” and suggests her organization is gearing up for serious campaigning.

“Our members are fired up and ready for this election and eager to defeat MAGA extremism once again. We’ll be launching one of the biggest electoral programs in our history to secure another Democratic trifecta and defeat MAGA’s very real threats to our freedoms, rights, and futures so that we can continue down the road of progress for all of us,” Ms. Epting said.

THE YARD WARS

Can politics influence the nation’s lawn mowing habits? Why, yes. It can.

“As spring gardening season begins, homeowners are wrestling with personal decisions about how to tackle lawn care: To mow or not to mow? Irrigate? Fertilize? The ‘No Mow’ and ‘Low Mow’ campaigns aim to make yards more conducive to bees and butterflies — but you might face blowback from your neighbors if you try it out,” Axios reports.

“Homeowner associations have been clamping down on residents who let their lawns go brown or wild, even taking people to court over the state of their yards. At the same time, Democratic lawmakers are taking the lead in passing regulations that prod people toward ‘green’ lawn care,” the report continued.

“California’s landmark law banning the sale of new gas-powered mowers and leaf blowers takes effect next year. Other states and cities are following suit. Towns that adopt ‘No Mow May’ agree not to issue citations to homeowners who let their grass grow long,” it said.

But that’s not all.

“The grass itself isn’t the only battleground. ‘Yard sign wars’ have flared up across the country over people using their turf for flamboyant political displays — which often linger far past the election they target,” the report noted.

TURNING POINT GEARS UP

Turning Point USA — a conservative, grassroots activist network — is underscoring the need for an invigorated faith in the U.S. in no uncertain terms. And the group is willing to travel to get their point across.

“Our nation needs revival. These are dark and trying times for America, and now more than ever, we need to turn to our great God for peace, for hope, for victory,” the organization said in a mission statement shared with Inside the Beltway.

That particular mission is carried out by the organization’s very active faith outreach — called TPUSA Faith — which organizes community events, voter registration drives and educational programs for the Christian community with an emphasis on “the connection between faith and freedom.”

They are ready to roll.

“TPUSA Faith has launched our Kingdom to the Capitol Tour — a series of live worship events in all 50 state capitals over the next several months designed to ignite the flame of revival in bible-believing Americans across the country,” the statement said.

Events have already been scheduled in Oklahoma City; Austin, Texas; Topeka, Kansas; Madison, Wisconsin; Springfield, Illinois; and Indianapolis.

Find the organization at Tpusa.com, and its faith outreach at Tpusafaith.com.

POLL DU JOUR

• 18% of U.S. adults would describe the political viewpoint of the U.S. Supreme Court as “very conservative.”

• 18% would describe the political viewpoint as “conservative.”

• 34% would describe the political viewpoint as “moderate.”

• 10% would describe the political viewpoint as ‘liberal.”

• 5% would describe the viewpoint as “very liberal.”

• 15% are “not sure” how to describe the court’s political viewpoint.

SOURCE: An Economist/YouGov poll of 1,500 U.S. adults conducted April 22-25.

• Contact Jennifer Harper @HarperBulletin.