It seems like every week more polling is released that shows President Biden underwater and his prospects for reelection in freefall, and each week either ABC’s This Week moderator Jon Karl or NBC’s Meet the Press anchor Chuck Todd are forced to break the bad news to their audiences. This time around, it was Karl’s turn to report the results of yet another bad poll for Biden.
Trying to keep his breakfast down, Karl opened the segment by reporting “our new poll this morning with the Washington Post shows significant warning signs for Democrats. More than half of the country disapproves of Biden’s job performance, weighed down by significant discontent over the economy. 40 percent say they are worse off financially than they were two years ago.”
“The most negative response to that question in nearly 40 years of our polling, and as Biden prepares for a likely 2024 re-election campaign, less than a third of Democratic voters want to see him renominated,” Karl continued.
Yet as bad as that polling news was for Democrats, there was even more that Karl was forced to read: “Perhaps most frightening for Democrats in a hypothetical rematch of the 2020 election, Trump has a slight edge. 48 to 44 within the margin of error over Biden.”
Later on in the show during the PowerHouse Roundtable discussion, Karl brought the poll back up again and was perplexed at how more Republicans want Trump to run again than Democrats do for Biden.
“Only 31 percent in our poll want Biden to run again. 58 percent want someone else,” Karl bemoaned. “Now, look at the flip side. Republican voters and you see it regarding Donald Trump. 44 percent want him to run again. I mean, much closer.”
Karl then asked, “how is it that at this point we’re at a situation where Republicans are more enthusiastic about a Trump re-run than they are a Biden re-election?”
Maybe because under Trump, the economy was roaring, we weren’t suffering from the worst inflation crisis in over 40 years and our nation’s enemies feared us.
This segment on ABC’s This Week was made possible by Fidelity. Their information is linked so you can contact them.
The relevant transcript is below:
ABC’s This Week
2/5/2023
9:17:28 a.m. EasternJONATHAN KARL: President Biden sounding very much like a candidate for re-election at the DNC’s annual meeting in Philadelphia on Friday, but as we mentioned, our new poll this morning with the Washington Post shows significant warning signs for Democrats. More than half of the country disapproves of Biden’s job performance, weighed down by significant discontent over the economy. 40 percent say they are worse off financially than they were two years ago.
The most negative response to that question in nearly 40 years of our polling, and as Biden prepares for a likely 2024 re-election campaign, less than a third of Democratic voters want to see him renominated. Perhaps most frightening for Democrats in a hypothetical rematch of the 2020 election, Trump has a slight edge. 48 to 44 within the margin of error over Biden.
[…]
KARL: In our poll, about Democrats, not about Democratic leaders who are all with Biden it seems, but look at Democratic voters. Democratic voters, only 31 percent in our poll want Biden to run again. 58 percent want someone else. Now, look at the flip side. Republican voters and you see it regarding Donald Trump. 44 percent want him to run again. I mean, much closer. How is it that at this point we’re at a situation where Republicans are more enthusiastic about a Trump re-run than they are a Biden re-election?