OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A CNN panelist expressed shock when a Wall Street Journal poll revealed that President Joe Biden had a narrow lead over former President Donald Trump on a key reelection issue during an “Inside Politics” segment.
The WSJ poll conducted from March 17-24 among voters in seven swing states found that Biden held a slight lead over Trump 43-42 percent, on the issue of who could better protect democracy, though Biden and Democrats have been harping for months that Trump is the bigger threat.
CNN senior political analyst Nia-Malika Henderson appeared surprised as host Dana Bash revealed the poll results, the Daily Caller reported.
“Is it shocking, because it’s only plus one?” Bash asked.
“Yeah, yeah, I mean it’s shocking that he’s only up by plus one against a guy who tried to overthrow democracy very violently on January 6, and this is something that Democrats have been hitting,” Henderson falsely claimed.
Trump gave a “Stop the Steal” speech on Jan. 6, 2021, and specifically told supporters during the speech and rally to “peacefully” march to the Capitol to make their voices heard after he unsuccessfully claimed in a series of court cases for weeks following the November election that he defeated Biden in the 2020 election.
“Biden has given several speeches on this. They see this as a centerpiece of their efforts to get moderate voters, independent voters, suburban women voters, and some of those Nikki Haley voters, as well, and the idea that Biden is only up by one, I think, is fairly shocking,” Henderson continued.
“The other number is not too shocking, right? You think about the economy, you talk to voters. They do sincerely believe that the economy was better under Donald Trump,” she added.
During an August 25, 2022, speech at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser, President Biden accused Republicans of embracing “semi-fascism”. In a September 1, 2022, speech in Philadelphia, he declared Trump’s supporters a “threat” to democracy.
Biden claimed that during a January speech near Valley Forge, the former president promised an “assault on democracy”. He also said that defending democracy was a “central cause” of his administration.
And yet, it is Biden’s Justice Department that is prosecuting Trump for a number of allegations that several legal experts have described as outrageous and inappropriate.
That led Independent presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to declare on CNN during a Tuesday appearance that Biden appeared to be the bigger threat to democracy, in his view.
A CNN segment on Tuesday pointed out that Biden is behind former President Donald Trump in six of seven swing states—Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia—while Biden leads by three points in Wisconsin.
What’s more, Trump is leading Biden on issues that are also the biggest concerns for voters this cycle.
“Look at the why: what is going on? Alright, trusted more, again, this is across all of these key seven swing states,” CNN political analyst Harry Enten said.
“Look, Donald Trump is trusted more than Joe Biden in basically all the important issues — the economy, inflation, 20-point lead, immigration, border, 20-point lead, the Israel-Hamas war, 14-point lead, the Russia-Ukraine war, nine-point lead, protecting democracy, well within the margin of error, which I think is something the that should worry that Biden camp, given that has been harping and Democrats been harping on this,” Enten continued. “Just a one-point advantage.
“On abortion, Democrats and Joe Biden have a 12-point advantage. They would love this campaign to be about abortion, but at this particular point, it‘s about this. And it‘s about this with perhaps a little bit of this,” Enten said, pointing out the main concerns of voters, “and all these issues favor Donald Trump.”
The host pointed out that Democrats and Biden have been “running on protecting democracy, and that’s a wash right now.”
“It is a Wash. And this is not the only poll that shows… was looking at a Quinnipiac University poll last month, last week, excuse me, that showed the same thing,” Enten said. “And it‘s something that RFK Jr. said to our colleague, Erin Burnett, saying, I‘m not quite sure — Joe Biden may be worse for protecting democracy. It turns out a lot of voters agree on that.”
