Democrats are just starting to worry that President Joe Biden’s steadily crashing poll numbers might present a huge problem for him, even if he does end up facing their hated boogie man, Donald Trump, in a general election next year.
The latest to reveal his concern is ex-President Barack Obama’s top political adviser, David Axelrod, who said that the most recent Wall Street Journal poll is very worrisome, the New York Post reported.
The Wall Street Journal recently found that Biden has crashed to a mere 37 percent approval rating, the lowest the Journal has found for the 81-year-old president.
The same poll found Trump leading Biden by four points in a head-to-head match, and by six when independent candidates are added to the choices.
Axelrod, who was widely credited with being one of Obama’s most important strategists, was shocked by the terrible results.
“Job approval down, ratings generally down, most of the comparatives with Trump not good,” Axelrod said on this week’s episode of the “Hacks on Tap” podcast. “What I worry about, you guys, from a Biden standpoint, is these are the kinds of things you get when people are starting to rationalize their votes.”
Axelrod also pointed out that “Bidenomics” has become a millstone around Biden’s neck. And then he added, “And they just put out another photo op with the ‘Bidenomics’ sign next to him … it’s just unbelievable to me.”
The survey shows that two-thirds of those polled think the economy is bad and has gotten worse in the last two years, not better as Biden claims it has.
Axelrod said that the numbers revealing how people feel they are doing under the two presidents is stark as 49 percent said they were doing well under Trump’s presidency, but only a tiny 23 percent say they are doing well today under Biden. Another result is also bad for Biden as 53 percent said that the Democrat’s policies have directly hurt them while only 37 percent said Trump’s policies were bad for them.
Will Biden’s approval rating continue to drop?
The Chicago politico also said that Biden’s campaign has been very distracted and is “way behind” where it should be in solidifying his support among voters.
Axelrod has been warning Democrats about Biden for more than a month. Early in November, for instance, he told the party that it was long past time to decide if they are going to force Biden to step aside for someone else.
Axelrod also worried that Biden’s advanced age and his general decrepitude was also a major drawback.
“It’s very late to change horses; a lot will happen in the next year that no one can predict & Biden’s team says his resolve to run is firm,” Axelrod wrote on X at the time. “He’s defied [conventional wisdom] before but this will send tremors of doubt thru the party–not ‘bed-wetting,’ but legitimate concern.”
It’s very late to change horses; a lot will happen in the next year that no one can predict & Biden’s team says his resolve to run is firm.
He’s defied CW before but this will send tremors of doubt thru the party–not “bed-wetting,” but legitimate concern. https://t.co/g6zeWF0T87— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) November 5, 2023
Obama himself also reportedly said that Biden could “very well lose” in the 2024 elections. And Obama is not worried just about Biden, but Democrats generally, according to a Monday report by Fox News.
The Wall Street Journal poll is not even the worst one out there for Biden.
According to The Hill, the newest Monmouth University poll shows Biden at a rock bottom and extremely dismal 34 percent approval rate. This number is some of the worst polling of any modern president, even matching Trump’s lowest rating. And it should be remembered that Biden called Trump the “worst president” in history when he ran against Trump in 2020.
Worse yet for the Democrats, there is still time for Biden to go even lower in the polls, especially since he has been steadily declining all year. Axelrod is right about one thing, though. If they intend to dump the increasingly infirm president, they have to move soon or it will be too late.
