OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
An extensive new poll commissioned by The Wall Street Journal is horrendous news for President Biden as former President Donald Trump, despite all of his indictments, has surged in terms of support.
The WSJ noted that in a hypothetical match-up as of now, Trump leads Biden 47-43 percent, but the margin grows to 6 points – 37-31 percent – when a bevy of third-party candidates’ names are added to the mix.
“Biden’s political standing is at its weakest point of his presidency, a new Wall Street Journal poll finds, with voters giving him his lowest job-performance marks and favoring Donald Trump for the first time in a head-to-head test of the likely 2024 presidential matchup,” the outlet reported.
Third-party candidates “take a combined 17% support, with Democrat-turned-independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. drawing the most, at 8%,” the outlet added.
The new survey reveals widespread dissatisfaction with Biden, particularly among Democratic-leaning groups who may still support the president on Election Day. Only 23% of voters believe that Biden’s policies have personally benefited them, while 53% feel they have been adversely affected by the president’s agenda. In contrast, about half of voters believe Trump’s policies during his presidency personally helped them versus 37% who claim they were harmed.
Approval of Biden’s job performance has reached a low of 37% in Journal polling during his presidency, with 61% viewing his overall image unfavorably, a record high. “Bidenomics,” the president’s signature economic platform, is perceived favorably by fewer than 30% of voters and unfavorably by more than half.
The latest findings provide another blow for Biden and Democrats. Some within the party have expressed concerns about the 81-year-old president’s stamina while also boosting their warnings about the potential return of the 77-year-old Trump, whom they claim is determined to exact retribution on his political enemies and is a threat to democracy — even as Biden’s administration prosecutes Trump.
“Things were thriving under Trump. This country is a business and it needs to be run by a businessman,” Aimee Kozlowski, 53, of Goffstown, N.H., a Republican who plans to vote for the former president, told the outlet.
he mentioned that her competitive gymnastics facility has been adversely affected as parents seek to reduce costs due to inflation. While she has offered some discounts, she is grappling with her own increased expenses, the WSJ reported, adding:
A Biden campaign looking for opportunities to build support, however, would find a few in the new survey.
Voters see the president as better able than Trump to handle abortion, 44% to 33%, giving him an edge on an issue proven to boost Democratic candidates. Voters who are undecided on the presidential race lean Democratic in other survey questions, suggesting that they could be persuaded to back Biden nearly a year from now.
Some segments of Biden’s 2020 coalition remain uncommitted at the moment but could potentially swing back in his favor by Election Day. Pollster Tony Fabrizio, a Republican who conducted the Journal survey alongside Democrat Michael Bocian, is closely monitoring the 24% of voters he categorizes as “disaffected Democrats.” The group consists of Democrats who believe inflation, their personal finances, or the country overall is heading in the wrong direction. Among these voters, 16% are undecided on their presidential vote, and 7% are currently supporting Trump, the Journal noted further.
The “disaffected Democrats” are just one segment of a much larger group that harbors a negative outlook on the economy. This pessimism contrasts with several recent indicators of economic strength, including a surge in gross domestic product, a moderation in inflation, and an unemployment rate that reached its lowest point since 1969 earlier this year.
According to the Labor Department’s report on Friday, employers added a seasonally adjusted 199,000 jobs last month, indicating that the labor market remains robust.
