How 80-year-old Biden is in worse shape than ANY president since Jimmy Carter, with a year until the election
As of Sunday, Biden has 365 days to salvage the situation, but precedents suggest he faces an uphill climb.
One year after Election Day on November 5, 2024, Biden’s approval rating in Gallup is 37 percent.
That is lower than his six immediate predecessors – Donald Trump, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George HW Bush and Ronald Reagan – at the same pace.
Two of them – Trump and George HW Bush – were not re-elected despite having a higher approval rating than Biden.
It’s a year until the 2024 election and Joe Biden is at the lowest of any president seeking a second term since Jimmy Carter, polls show
Only Jimmy Carter, who was at 32 percent, was more unpopular than Biden with a year to go, and Carter subsequently lost by a landslide.
Pollsters believe that 50 percent approval in the final days before America votes is a benchmark for a successful reelection.
That would indicate that Biden has work to do if he wants to stay in the White House.
His approval rating started at a healthy 57 percent when he was inaugurated in January 2021.
But it began to decline precipitously after the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan seven months into his presidency.
Biden’s popularity is now at an all-time low after a series of verbal blunders and physical stumbles, and amid mounting concerns about the 80-year-old’s age.
An AP-NORC poll in August found that 77 percent of Americas, including 69 percent of Democrats, viewed Biden as too old to be effective for another four years
![How 80-year-old Biden is in worse shape than ANY president since Jimmy Carter, with a year until the election 2 US President Joe Biden (L), US First Lady Jill Biden and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (R) attend the dignified transfer of the remains of a fallen soldier, one of the US service members who died during the war. withdrawal from Afghanistan](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1699211134_879_How-80-year-old-Biden-is-in-worse-shape-than-ANY-president.jpg)
US President Joe Biden (L), US First Lady Jill Biden and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (R) attend the dignified transfer of the remains of a fallen soldier, one of the US service members who died during the war. withdrawal from Afghanistan
However, his campaign expresses confidence that Biden can restore.
They claim he avoided a recession in the wake of the pandemic, kept European allies largely united in support of Ukraine, and secured congressional support for a $1 trillion investment in U.S. infrastructure.
Optimistic supporters also believe he is the only Democrat who can defeat Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner, because he has done it before.
But there is growing dissension within the ranks of Democrats that could erupt outward as the election draws closer, further damaging Biden’s chances.
In November 2019, a year after his ultimately failed re-election bid, Donald Trump’s approval rating was 43 percent – six points higher than Biden’s.
![How 80-year-old Biden is in worse shape than ANY president since Jimmy Carter, with a year until the election 4 Donald Trump with Kim Kardashian in the White House in 2019, the year before he sought re-election](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1699211135_634_How-80-year-old-Biden-is-in-worse-shape-than-ANY-president.jpg)
Donald Trump with Kim Kardashian in the White House in 2019, the year before he sought re-election
At the time, Trump was preparing for his first impeachment trial.
Congress investigated claims that he wanted to pressure Volodymyr Zelensky to have Urkraine investigate Biden, his then-opponent, for alleged corruption.
Three months later, Trump was acquitted by the Senate.
With 365 days to go until the 2020 election, the stock market was at an all-time high.
And despite the pandemic that hit then, Trump’s approval rating on Election Day was the same as a year earlier, but he still lost.
Barack Obama also had a 43 percent annual approval rating before running for re-election.
But his standing improved during the subsequent campaign, eventually reaching 52 percent approval on the eve of the 2012 election, in which he defeated Mitt Romney.
![How 80-year-old Biden is in worse shape than ANY president since Jimmy Carter, with a year until the election 6 Barack Obama poses for photos at the White House with Major League Soccer champions Los Angeles Galaxy, including Landon Donovan (L) and David Beckham, as he sought re-election in 2012](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1699211137_270_How-80-year-old-Biden-is-in-worse-shape-than-ANY-president.jpg)
Barack Obama poses for photos at the White House with Major League Soccer champions Los Angeles Galaxy, including Landon Donovan (L) and David Beckham, as he sought re-election in 2012
![How 80-year-old Biden is in worse shape than ANY president since Jimmy Carter, with a year until the election 8 US President George W. Bush (R) and first lady Laura Bush (L) wave as they greet Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (C) in Texas in 2003. Bush was re-elected the following year](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1699211139_36_How-80-year-old-Biden-is-in-worse-shape-than-ANY-president.jpg)
US President George W. Bush (R) and first lady Laura Bush (L) wave as they greet Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (C) in Texas in 2003. Bush was re-elected the following year
![How 80-year-old Biden is in worse shape than ANY president since Jimmy Carter, with a year until the election 10 President Bill Clinton with Socks the Cat in 1995, the year before he was re-elected](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1699211140_323_How-80-year-old-Biden-is-in-worse-shape-than-ANY-president.jpg)
President Bill Clinton with Socks the Cat in 1995, the year before he was re-elected
George W. Bush polled 54 percent a year before his re-election and held steady until he defeated John Kerry in November 2004.
Bill Clinton stood at 52 percent with one year left and rose even further on his re-election day in 1996.
Before that, in the wake of the Gulf War, George HW Bush rose 59 percent a year before his second election.
However, between then and Election Day in November 1992, he plummeted below 40 percent and ultimately lost to Clinton.
![How 80-year-old Biden is in worse shape than ANY president since Jimmy Carter, with a year until the election 12 John Major and George HW Bush at Camp David in 1991. Bush ran for re-election the following year](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1699211142_388_How-80-year-old-Biden-is-in-worse-shape-than-ANY-president.jpg)
John Major and George HW Bush at Camp David in 1991. Bush ran for re-election the following year
![How 80-year-old Biden is in worse shape than ANY president since Jimmy Carter, with a year until the election 14 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II toasts US President Ronald Reagan at a banquet in San Francisco in 1983, the year before he was re-elected](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1699211143_71_How-80-year-old-Biden-is-in-worse-shape-than-ANY-president.jpg)
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II toasts US President Ronald Reagan at a banquet in San Francisco in 1983, the year before he was re-elected
Ronald Reagan held a 53 percent lead a year before the 1984 election, then rose to 61 percent on Election Day, winning a second term in a landslide.
Before that, Jimmy Carter had an approval rating of 32 percent on November 4, 1979, a year before the 1980 election.
On the same day, the Iranian hostage crisis began, further severely damaging his presidency and leading to a disastrous defeat.
![How 80-year-old Biden is in worse shape than ANY president since Jimmy Carter, with a year until the election 16 Jimmy Carter gives his 'Malaise' speech in 1979, a year before he failed to get re-elected, telling Americans they were facing a crisis of confidence](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1699211145_545_How-80-year-old-Biden-is-in-worse-shape-than-ANY-president.jpg)
Jimmy Carter gives his ‘Malaise’ speech in 1979, a year before he failed to get re-elected, telling Americans they were facing a crisis of confidence
![How 80-year-old Biden is in worse shape than ANY president since Jimmy Carter, with a year until the election 18 President Jimmy Carter toasts Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping during a state dinner at the White House in 1979](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1699211147_313_How-80-year-old-Biden-is-in-worse-shape-than-ANY-president.jpg)
President Jimmy Carter toasts Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping during a state dinner at the White House in 1979
Biden’s re-election campaign team has made detailed plans to avoid a similar fate to Carter.
Much of that is based on what worked for Biden in 2020.
In a strategy memo obtained by the Associated Press, Biden’s campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez admitted that the 2024 election will be “very close.”
But she said that “Joe Biden’s message remains popular with voters in 2020 and is central to this campaign.”
Biden would provide a “marked contrast to whoever the MAGA Republican Party nominates,” she said.
The Biden campaign has already launched a $25 million ad campaign.
That marks the start of what is expected to eventually be $1 billion spent on promoting the candidacy to voters, up from $800 million in 2020.