Democrats are lining up to discuss their disappointment with President Joe Biden’s polls, with the 80-year-old president also under fire after a bizarre news conference in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Sunday evening.
“There’s just no enthusiasm,” said Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana The hill during the weekend. ‘You have to worry about those polls, that’s just how it is. There’s still plenty of time to get them back on their feet. “Whether he can do it or not, I don’t know, but you have to worry,” he added.
Tester described the president as a “factor” because he is also running for re-election in a deeply red state in 2024.
A recent poll shows President Biden in tight races with Donald Trump and the many Republican presidential candidates — and trailing former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley by six points.
Biden narrowly trails Trump, the Republican Party frontrunner, 47 to 46 in a new CNN/SSRS poll. That matches polling averages such as those from RealClearPolitics, with Biden leading Trump by 1 percentage point.
A new CNN poll shows Biden trailing Trump, Pence, Scott, Ramaswamy, Christie and Haley and tied with DeSantis
While an unnamed Democratic senator told The Hill that voters are “apathetic” about Biden’s 2024 campaign. That senator said recent polls reflect the conversations they’ve had with voters about the president.
‘There’s just no enthusiasm. It basically comes down to, “Well, he’s done a pretty good job, but he’s just too old.”
Biden’s age is back in the spotlight after his erratic antics in Vietnam when his press conference came to a sudden end Sunday night when his microphone cut out and jazz music played him off stage.
Biden was mid-stream answering questions from reporters when he was interrupted and forced to shuffle away and go backstage.
‘We talked about stability, we talked about the Third World, excuse me, the southern hemisphere has access to change. It wasn’t confrontational at all…’ Biden said as he continued walking.
Suddenly the booming voice of his press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, intervened.
‘Thanks to everyone. This ends the press conference. Thank you all,” she said as she ended the presser.
Former President Donald Trump leads President Biden 47 to 46 in a new CNN poll
Haley, 51, leads attacks on Biden’s age, saying the 80-year-old president is not fit and won’t live until 2028
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis arrives at an Iowa State Wrestling tailgate before the Cy-Hawk football game at Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday
Meanwhile, Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado told The Hill he was “frustrated” that Biden’s numbers are so low despite a healthy economy.
“(The voters) think inflation is still running away. Inflation has risen from 9 percent to 3 percent, now 3.5 percent. Relatively speaking, it is under control. Now we’re not at 2 percent yet, but we’re damn close,” Hickenlooper said.
‘What can you do? You have to keep trying to find new ways to talk about this,” he said. “I think we need to find some new ways to let people know that the reality of what we’re seeing is little short of a miracle,” he continued.
Another Democratic senator, who was not named in the article, said voters were “obsessed” with the president’s age. “This is a man who has done more than anyone half his age,” the senator said.
In more optimistic comments, Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said there is “work to be done,” including “stronger messages” and “more aggressive campaigning,” but that it was “still very, very early.”
‘The fundamental thing here is that elections are about choices. “When voters — when we’re six months out from the election and still a year and a half away — look at both Trump and Biden, even the people who like Trump’s results don’t want four more years of Trump,” Blumenthal said.
“These elections are going to be a fight. There is no doubt that it will be a battle and we must prepare,” the Liberal senator concluded.
Democratic strategist James Carville joked last weeks that despite calls for liberals to “stop bedwetting,” his wife had “turned me into rubber sheets.”
Sen. Jon Tester of Montana conceded that Biden will be a factor as he runs for reelection in a deep-red state
During a recent appearance on CNN, Democratic strategist James Carville admitted, “The polls aren’t great.”
“Jim Messina said Democrats should stop wetting the bed, but my wife already turned me into rubber sheets,” he joked.
In an earlier appearance on MSNBC, Messina, President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign manager, pointed out that the popular president plummeted in the polls in 2011.
“I just think Democrats need to take a deep breath, realize that the polls are going to be bad for a while, just like they were for Barack Obama, and next year, if it’s Trump versus Biden, we’ll win that race again,” Messina said. .
In an interview with nbc news, Democratic pollster Matt Barreto said voters aren’t saying, “I hate Joe Biden and I think I should vote Republican.” They’re just saying they’re frustrated about some issues.”
“We think that if we fully sell the Biden plan and the Democratic plan, more of these frustrated voters will side with us rather than take a chance against Trump and other Republicans,” Barreto said.
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said Biden’s team should focus on the president’s performance.
‘Prices are going down. All trends are moving in the right direction. So my strong prediction is that as people start to feel the benefits of these initiatives in their daily lives, things will change,” Van Hollen said.
Republican Senator JD Vance of Ohio was confident that ex-President Donald Trump can return to the White House in 2024
Meanwhile, on the other side of the aisle, former Trump rival and now ally Senator JD Vance of Ohio is saying it’s a myth that the former Apprentice host can’t win the presidency again in 2024.
“There is a strange idea in this building — I hate to say it, among too many of my Senate colleagues — that we will lose the presidential election if Trump is the nominee,” the author said.
“Look, it won’t be easy. I won’t pretend that will be the case. But I think he has a very good chance of becoming president again,” he added.
Other Republican candidates fare slightly better in head-to-head matchups with the incumbent president, although those in the lead, like Trump, fall within the poll’s 3.5 percent margin of error, indicating a close race.
The exception is Haley, who leads Biden 49 to 43 percent. Haley, 51, leads attacks on Biden’s age, saying the 80-year-old president is not fit and won’t live until 2028.
Biden is tied with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 47, trails former Vice President Mike Pence at 46-44, and trails Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina at 46-44.
Newcomer and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy leads Biden from 46 to 45, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie leads Biden from 44 to 42, in a poll of registered voters.
The differences are similar between those who vociferously defend Trump, such as Ramaswamy; DeSantis, who said he would consider pardoning the defendants on Jan. 6; and Pence and Christie, who have criticized Trump for his election efforts.
However, Haley is not performing well in the polls against fellow Republicans. She is just 6 percent of the RealClearPolitics average.
“We all know that Joe Biden thinks he’s going to run for office and win this election, and then he’s going to hand the election to President Kamala Harris,” Haley claimed on Fox News Wednesday night.
She said she would “stomp all over Joe Biden” during a match. Then she said, “Everyone really needs to know that it’s me running against Kamala Harris to become president.”
Trump’s continued performance in the polls could undermine opponents who say he is not as electable as them because of his multiple indictments and criminal trials.