On Christmas Eve, The Hill newspaper reported anonymous sources “in the Biden orbit” indicated the White House is “deeply frustrated” over the media’s “disproportionate media focus on the polls that show Biden losing while ignoring polls that show him winning.”
Biden saw his approval rating hit a new low of 34 percent in a Monmouth University poll released last Monday. A few days before that, a Wall Street Journal poll showed Biden at 37 percent approval rating.
Trump is holding a 2 percent lead over Biden in The Hill/Decision Desk HQ national polling averages.
A New York Times/Siena poll last Tuesday showed just 33 percent of respondents approve of Biden’s Israel policy. The same poll found Trump leading Biden by 6 points among registered voters younger than 30.
Sources told The Hill the president has gathered advisers, both internal White House aides and external personal confidants, for meetings to discuss Trump, the negative polling and how to effectively message the president’s accomplishments.
“One Biden ally said meetings have taken place because of ‘deep frustration’ over polls but that it did not reflect a panic over the president’s prospects,” The Hill reported.
A source from the Biden administration told The Hill that “The meetings are intended to discuss messaging on his age and his accomplishments. There has been concern among his inner circle that the messaging has not been strong or consistent enough to break through with the public.”
The White House has long argued the 2024 election will be a close one but that as voters begin to compare Biden with Trump, things will move in its favor. They’ve largely dismissed polls as being meaningless this far away from the election while noting pundits have previously counted out Biden only to see him rise to victory.
Ivan Zapien, a former DNC official, told The Hill, “Yes, it’s frustrating. I have heard many theories as to why the message is not connecting. None convince me or make me feel better.”
The Hill also reported Biden was short with reporters on Saturday when asked “What’s your outlook about the economy next year?” The president said: “All good. Take a look. Start reporting it the right way.” Let’s guess the “right way” is to accentuate the positive on Biden’s behalf, just like the “right polls” are the ones that show Biden winning.