OPINION:
President Biden is in trouble. Poll after poll shows that former President Donald Trump is defeating the current president in every battleground state. Voters are concerned about high prices and the economy. They are concerned about border security and the trafficking of drugs like fentanyl across the country. They are worried about public safety in cities like Detroit, Milwaukee, Atlanta, and Philadelphia.
In addition to the flurry of polls showing former Mr Trump leading President Biden in key states, the latest New York Times/Siena poll revealed big trouble for the Biden-Harris campaign. Nationwide, Mr. Trump leads Mr. Biden by 5 points. The bigger problem for the incumbent is that many traditionally important Democrat voting blocs are shifting away from the president.
The poll revealed that 87% of Black voters said they cast a ballot for Mr. Biden in 2020, and a mere 6% said they voted for Mr. Trump. The poll then asked who they would cast a ballot for in 2024. Black voters said only 66% would vote for Mr. Biden, while an astonishing 23% said Mr. Trump. In a close election, these percentages could be the difference in deciding who will become the 47th president.
In 2020, according to their responses, 60% of Hispanic voters cast a ballot for Mr. Biden, while 30% voted for Mr. Trump. In 2024, these same voters said 40% would vote for Mr. Biden, while 46% said they would vote for Mr. Trump. These percentages are nearly insurmountable for a Democrat.
As if the news wasn’t bad enough for the left, younger voters are slipping away from Mr. Biden. Two years ago, 18- to 29-year-old voters went for liberal candidates by margins of 30 points or more in multiple key elections for the United States Senate. In the New York Times/Siena poll, 69% of the respondents in this age group said they voted for Mr. Biden in the last election, while 26% said they voted for Mr. Trump. Looking ahead, 53% say they are voting for Mr. Biden, while 41% say they will vote for Mr. Trump.
These numbers are consistent with a nationwide poll conducted by Echelon Insights on behalf of Young America’s Foundation before the first presidential primary debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In that survey, the economy was the number one issue for college students.
Furthermore, fewer than four in ten college students were confident that Mr. Biden is an effective leader when it comes to the needs of young people. Only 20% of college students thought the United States was headed in the right direction. A plurality of college students believe Mr. Biden is not mentally fit enough to be president. These findings are consistent with the massive drop in support reflected in the New York Times/Siena poll. When a poll conducted for that liberal publication says President Joe Biden is in trouble, he is in bad shape.
Unlike the earnest-sounding wail of President Bill Clinton, who said he could feel our pain, President Biden prefers the rail of an angry old man who tells us that Bidenomics is working—we’re just too stupid to know it. That may work in the bubble around Washington, D.C., but the rest of us who live in the real world know it isn’t true.
The ABC affiliate in Madison, Wisconsin, reported that “layoffs at major companies across Wisconsin have surged by a staggering 109% compared to this time last year, according to the Department of Workforce Development Warn Notices.” I noted that when Vice President Kamala Harris flew into Wisconsin this week.
Voters in my home state are tired of these failed policies. Regardless of what the politicians and bureaucrats in Washington say, they can feel the negative impact of high prices for food, gas, and housing. A typical family in Wisconsin is paying nearly $900 more per month just to live the way they did before Mr. Biden took office, according to one report. That is real money.
Tragic stories like Laken Hope Riley continue to pop up around the country. Voters know of so many people who have died from overdoses—particularly from fentanyl. They see the daily barrage of images of the invasion at the southern border, and they do not like it.
These same voters look at stories from our largest cities, and they can’t believe what has happened over the past few years. Homelessness, drug use, and high crime are all on display, causing many people to fear for their safety.
On Saturday Night Live last weekend, a skit called the president “Sleepy Joe.” That suggests an image problem. But it’s his policies that are causing most Americans nightmares. And that’s why he is in trouble.
• Scott Walker is president of Young America’s Foundation and served as the 45th governor of Wisconsin.
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