The latest Washington Post/ABC News national poll, though many consider it to be an outlier, brings to light serious concerns about President Joe Biden’s approval ratings and electability.
The general election is more than a year away and hypothetical polling at this stage doesn’t hold much predictive value. However, the possibility of a rematch with former President Trump in the next election could be influenced by potential criminal convictions against the latter.
The poll results might unsettle Democrats who are already apprehensive about the 2024 elections with Biden leading the ticket. Among registered voters, Trump leads by nine points (51-42 percent). Biden’s job approval rating is 19 points underwater, with record-low ratings for handling the economy and immigration. A record number of Americans claim they’ve become worse off under his presidency, three-quarters believe he’s too old for another term and many view Trump favorably in retrospect.
Biden’s performance on critical issues like the economy and immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border has received low approval ratings from the public. If a government shutdown occurs, 40 percent would chiefly blame him and the Democrats in Congress.
The poll results show a bleak outlook for the Democrats. It’s noteworthy that they are likely to bear more blame for a potential government shutdown, even though Republicans usually lose the public opinion battle in such standoffs. Despite Biden’s team insisting that “Bidenomics is working”, the president’s 30 percent economic approval stat in this survey, along with other findings, starkly highlight the public’s disagreement.
However, some data experts advise caution, pointing out that some of these results are implausible. For instance, the survey’s finding that Trump is leading by double digits among voters under 40 and is only trailing Biden by single digits among non-white voters seems unlikely.
