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A “blood-curdling scream of rage” is how one left-leaning pundit felt about poll numbers showing President Biden tied or losing to most of the Republican presidential primary field as his approval ratings sink and voters overwhelmingly agree that he is too old to run for another White House term.
At 80, Mr. Biden isn’t old just by the numbers.
His declining mental sharpness and odd behaviors have kept his age in the news and on the minds of voters. This week, he inexplicably walked out of a Medal of Honor ceremony before it concluded.
He is now tied with or losing to many of his prospective Republican opponents.
“Biden’s vote against possible opponents ranges from 43% to 47%. That’s 4 to 8 points below the 51% he received in the 2020 election,” pollster Ron Faucheux told The Washington Times. “That’s a clear indication of weakness. Even though most of the trial heats are close, they also show that a majority of voters are resistant to reelecting the president.”
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Two new polls found that three-quarters of Americans think Mr. Biden is too old to serve another four-year term. A poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that nearly 70% of Democrats view Mr. Biden as too old to effectively remain in office beyond 2024.
The president tied in a 2024 CNN general election polling matchup with Republican political newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy, 38, and lost by 6 percentage points to former Ambassador Nikki Haley, 51.
Although many Democratic voters say they would prefer someone other than Mr. Biden to run as the party nominee in 2024, the president has given no indication that he plans to step aside. Party leaders have thrown their support behind him as they wring their hands over the ominous poll numbers and the president’s gaffes and stumbles.
Replacements appear to be on standby.
Vice President Kamala Harris, 58, subbing in for the president at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, told The Associated Press that she did not expect Mr. Biden to leave office prematurely but would be ready to step in if he does.
“Joe Biden is going to be fine, so that is not going to come to fruition,” Ms. Harris said. “But let us also understand that every vice president understands that when they take the oath they must be very clear about the responsibility they may have to take over the job of being president. I’m no different.”
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom, 55, also is waiting in the wings if Mr. Biden does not end up on the 2024 ballot.
He has publicly pledged to support Mr. Biden’s reelection but is acting more like a presidential candidate. He irked the Biden campaign team by agreeing to a debate with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential contender, and is building a political action committee to take on conservative governors.
He has slowed California’s rapid transition to green energy after increasing blackouts and high electric bills. Some suspect he is looking to broaden his appeal to voters.
“I think a young Democrat would have an excellent shot, a much better shot against Trump,” David Paleologos, the director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, told The Times.
Mr. Biden’s overall approval rating has been stuck in the low 40% range for a year and has dipped to 38% and 39% in three polls released since Tuesday.
On Thursday, a CNN poll dropped a hammer on the Biden camp with numbers showing broad and significant dissatisfaction with the president, even among Democrats.
“Views of Biden’s performance in office and on where the country stands are deeply negative,” the poll found.
Only 39% of voters approved of the job Mr. Biden is doing. Although the president has gone on the road to promote the benefits of “Bidenomics,” 58% say his policies have worsened the U.S. economy, an increase of 8 percentage points from a poll taken last fall.
“His numbers are a disaster,” Jim McLaughlin, a pollster and political consultant who conducts polls for former President Donald Trump, told The Washington Times. “It’s because he’s failing. Americans’ lives are getting worse as a result of his policies.”
Mr. McLaughlin pointed out a particularly threatening poll number from the CNN survey: Among critical independent voters, 64% disapprove of Mr. Biden’s performance.
The president would stand a good chance of losing against just about anyone in the entire Republican field.
In addition to tying Mr. Ramaswamy and losing to Mrs. Haley, the CNN poll showed Mr. Biden losing by a point to Mr. Trump, 77, and tied with Mr. DeSantis, 44.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, 64, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, 61, and Sen. Tim Scott, 57, of South Carolina, each polled 2 points ahead of Mr. Biden.
Mr. Biden’s salvation may be that he is polling several points higher than Ms. Harris, which makes her a less attractive replacement on the 2024 ballot. His most likely Republican opponent, Mr. Trump, faces problems winning support if he becomes the nominee, including a mountain of legal troubles.
Although Mr. Trump is the runaway favorite to win the Republican Party nomination, an AP-NORC poll found that 64% of general election voters said they would definitely or probably not vote for Mr. Trump in November 2024.
The former president is up against 91 criminal charges in four separate cases threatening to sideline him from the campaign trail.
Mr. Paleologos said the CNN poll showed a significant lack of enthusiasm among general election voters for either Mr. Biden or Mr. Trump, which he said creates an avenue for an independent candidate.
“You could drive a truck through the lane that’s being opened up by this poll,” he said.
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
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