OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
On Sunday, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, the one-time Democratic operative who worked in Bill Clinton’s White House, appeared to be shocked on-air by a new survey that showed dismal numbers for President Joe Biden.
The “This Week” host commented on the results of an ABC News/Washington Post survey after bringing in ABC News Political Director Rick Klein, who detailed the survey’s findings.
“The skepticism over his leadership extends deep inside his own party,” Klein noted.
Klein noted that the survey found that only 36 percent of Democrats believed that the incumbent should run for a second term, while more than half preferred “someone else,” and only 6 percent expressed no opinion.
“That’s despite the fact that the entire [Democratic National Committee], most of the Democratic establishment, has rallied behind President Biden,” Klein said, adding that Biden is now trailing former President Donald Trump by nine points among independents in a hypothetical matchup.
According to the poll, although Biden had a 35-point lead over Trump among black Americans, it was less than half of the 75 percent lead he had in the 2020 election.
“The fact of the matter is, in modern politics, that is not the kind of number that a Democrat needs to be victorious,” Klein said.
Participants were asked whether they would “definitely” vote for either Trump or Biden, “probably” vote for one of them, or opt for someone else or not vote at all. When considering those who “definitely” prefer one candidate over the other, Trump leads Biden 36-32.
However, when taking into account those who “probably” vote, Trump’s lead increases to 7 points, with a 45-38 advantage over Biden.
Mediaite noted further, citing the survey:
President Biden’s approval numbers, according to the new ABC/Washington Post poll, are nothing short of dismal. Only 36 percent of voters approve of the job the president is doing, compared to 56 percent who do not. The approval number is down 6 points from February, the last time ABC and the Washington Post released a poll, and represents an all-time low for him in that particular survey.
Ominously for Biden, Trump holds a commanding lead on one major issue — the economy. When voters were asked “Who do you think did a better job handling the economy – Donald Trump when he was president, or Joe Biden during his presidency so far?” 54 percent chose Trump, compared to 36 percent who picked Biden.
“Donald Trump is less than four years younger than Joe Biden, but the concerns over Biden’s age are much more significant,” Klein said. “Sixty-eight percent of voters think that Joe Biden is too old for an additional term.”
“Only 44 percent say the same about Donald Trump,” he added.
WATCH:
Later, Klein said the survey found that 56 percent of respondents believe that Trump should face charges for alleged attempts to ‘interfere’ in the 2020 election, while 38 percent disagreed. Interestingly, Klein said that of the 56 percent, 18 percent said they’d vote for Trump anyway.
“Rick, I gotta admit, I have a hard time wrapping my head around that. You’ve got one-in-five people who say they believe President Trump should face criminal charges, but they’d still vote for him?” an incredulous Stephanopoulos asked.
“It is remarkable, and I do think once there’s a match-up with an actual person, maybe that changes,” Klein said. “But that just tells you about how much Trump is baked into the political equation.”
Dick Morris, a former top political adviser to then-President Bill Clinton, doesn’t see much good coming from a second Biden term, but he does see a lot of positives coming from a second Trump term.
“You don’t need somebody warm and fuzzy and nice to build the coalition,” Morris told Newsmax’s “Saturday Report.” “You need somebody strong and independent and determined to resist their propaganda and barrel through their vulnerabilities and expose the center and talk about the virtue of the positions that the left and right of sharing in common.”
