Can Biden bounce back as the US presidential race turns nastier?
Antagonism between the two expected candidates for US president in 2024 is ramping up as the political battleground turns increasingly nasty.
- Antagonism between the two expected candidates for US president in 2024 is ramping up as the political battleground turns increasingly nasty.
- Americans continue to be concerned about threats to US democracy, according to a NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll.
- In the same week, Trump’s speech to car industry workers in Detroit pointedly tried to drive a wedge between Biden and working-class voters.
It’s the economy, stupid
- An ABC News/Washington Post poll on September 24 found that 44% of respondents believe they are financially worse off under Biden.
- While his administration can rightly point to strong economic growth, near full employment, and record investment in infrastructure, one economic metric remains a critical area of concern: rising prices.
- Senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, William A. Galston said that “the earnings of most US households declined significantly last year.
- Gary Langer, a public opinion researcher and political analyst, has observed that: “When he reluctantly left office in January 2021, 38% approved of (Trump’s) work as president… But currently, looking back, 48% say they approve of Trump’s performance when he was in office… Comparison with Biden may be a factor.”
The age factor
- The other political issue at play for Joe Biden is his age.
- In a recent NBC News poll, 74% of voters stated that they had concerns about an octogenarian president as well as his mental fitness.
- In May 2023 Trump was found liable in a civil trial of sexually assaulting advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996.
- With 13 months to go before the next presidential election, Biden and Trump remain in an incredibly tight race according to recent polling.