Even members of the president’s own party have urged him not to run for reelection as concerns about his fitness and the economy escalate
US President Joe Biden’s approval rating has hit rock bottom, according to a CNN poll published on Wednesday. Just 37% of Americans surveyed over the last month had a favorable view of the Democrat’s job performance.
While the president’s approval ratings never inched far above half the population by CNN’s count, topping out at 53% in April of 2021, his numbers have steadily declined since last December, driven by a dismal perception of his handling of the economy that has extended even into his own party, with 36% of Democrats taking a dim view of his economic policies, according to the poll.
These results reflected respondents’ overall pessimism regarding the nation’s financial fate – just 29% of those polled described the economy as “good” or “very good.” Even Democrats seemed to have trouble finding the silver lining in Bidenomics, with just 52% rating the economy positively.
Indeed, Americans’ sense of impending fiscal doom appeared to hit an all-time high last month, with 61% of those surveyed predicting somewhat or very poor economic conditions a year into the future – the most pessimistic response since CNN’s pollster began asking the question in 1997.
The economy remained the primary issue occupying voters’ minds as it has throughout Biden’s presidency, with 42% rating financial matters as their chief concern.
Despite Biden’s collapsing approval ratings, the Democrat has shown no sign of willingness to abdicate the Oval Office, appearing convinced he alone can defeat Republican frontrunner Donald Trump. “If Trump wasn’t running, I’m not sure I’d be running,” he reportedly told donors at a campaign event on Tuesday, declaring that Democrats “cannot let him win.”
Even David Axelrod, the former senior White House adviser for Barack Obama, strongly hinted last month that a Biden-Trump rematch would not end well for the Democrats, acknowledging that while Biden had the Democratic nomination if he wanted it, “what he needs to decide is whether that is wise, whether it’s in HIS best interest or the country’s.”
Axelrod subsequently clarified that he had not asked Biden to drop out of the race despite posting ominous poll numbers showing Trump leading the Democrat in five out of six critical swing states. A national The Economist/YouGov poll conducted last month similarly showed Trump in the lead, including among independent voters.
Axelrod’s misgivings prompted an outpouring of similar sentiments from hardcore never-Trumpers, including arch-neocon Bill Kristol urged the president to “pass the torch to the next generation.” The Iraq War architect framed Biden’s hypothetical departure from the race as “an act of personal sacrifice and public spirit.”
Biden would be 86 years old at the end of his second term, should he be reelected and survive that long.
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