OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A new NBC News survey is horrendous news for President Joe Biden as his reelection campaign, such as it is, gets underway.
According to the poll, which was released Sunday morning, Biden’s approval is at an all-time low of just 37 percent, leading a Democratic pollster to comment the “damning” results indicate a “presidency in peril.”
Per Newsmax, citing the survey:
Former President Donald Trump not only leads Biden by 5 points (47%-42%) in the national poll, but he leads by:
- 23 points on mental and physical health to be president (46%-23%).
- 22 points on handling the economy (55%-33%).
- 21 points on dealing with crime and violence (50%-29%)
- 16 points on being competent and effective (48%-32%)
- 11 points on improving America’s standing in the world (47%-36%)
- 35 points on securing the southern border (57%-22%).
The ongoing illegal immigration crisis has become the No. 1 issue for most GOP primary voters, according to the report, though Democrats are increasingly becoming fed up with Biden’s lax border enforcement policies as more migrants are shipped to major cities.
“What is most concerning is the erosion of Biden’s standing against Trump compared to four years ago,” Democrat pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates told NBC News.
“On every measure compared to 2020, Biden has declined. Most damning, the belief that Biden is more likely to be up to the job — the chief tenet of the Biden candidacy — has evaporated,” Horwitt continued.
The current numbers appear favorable for Trump and “difficult” for the incumbent as they enter the core of the 2024 primary season, Republican pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies offered.
“It is hard to imagine a more difficult set of numbers before a reelection,” McInturff told NBC News.
With 73% of registered voters expressing the belief that the U.S. is on the wrong track under Biden, the only potential positive aspect for the current president and Howitt is that there is still time to reverse these numbers.
“Biden can take solace that we are in January and not October 2024,” Howitt added. “At this stage in prior cycles, attitudes can change.”
Biden supporters might need to pin their hopes on a conviction of Trump on one of the four indictments he faces. In the scenario where Trump is convicted of a felony, Biden manages to secure a 2-point lead over Trump, although this still falls within the statistical margin of error, making it a competitive race.
Trump’s momentum across various issues is on a steady rise, as highlighted by the pollsters:
- Border: Trump’s lead increased from 16 points in September 2020 to 35 points in January 2024.
- Economy: Trump expanded his 7-point lead in October 2020 to 22 points today.
- Crime and violence: Trump turned a 4-point deficit during the 2020 riots into a 21-point lead today, marking a 25-point swing.
- Competence and effectiveness: Trump reversed a 9-point deficit in June 2020 to a 16-point lead today, another 25-point swing.
- Mental and physical health for the presidency: Trump transformed a 1-point deficit in October 2020, when he was hospitalized with COVID-19, into a 23-point lead today.
The survey is also the latest to show Biden losing ground with younger voters who have traditionally gone for Democrats.
“A major through line in what ails Biden most are his travails with younger voters,” Horwitt noted, per Newsmax.
Among these demographic groups, Trump has made notable progress. While he still faces a significant deficit among the black vote, he has managed to lead among Latinos by a slim margin of 42 percent to 41 percent. Additionally, he is tied with voters under the age of 35, both garnering 42 percent support.
Meanwhile, Democratic senators in swing or trending red states are increasingly shying away from President Joe Biden and declining not to have him appear with them on the campaign trail as his poll numbers decline, even though all of them have supported his legislative and policy agendas.
The Democratic candidates, many of whom are running in either red or battleground states, have refrained from prominently featuring Biden in their social media posts on the X platform since announcing their 2024 campaigns.
While none of these Democrats have explicitly endorsed the president’s reelection bid, they have consistently voted in alignment with his agenda throughout 2023, the Daily Caller reported.
