President Joe Biden trails his presumptive GOP opponent, former President Donald Trump, in nearly every battleground state that helped decide the 2020 election, according to a new poll.
Results from a Wall Street Journal poll released on Tuesday show that Trump leads Biden in most of the competitive 2024 states regardless of whether third-party candidates are factored in. The exception to the trend is Wisconsin, which shows the candidates tied in a head-to-head matchup and Biden ahead by three points if third-party and independent candidate options are available.
In Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, Trump maintains an edge over Biden in a head-to-head contest. Trump’s lead varies from a low of one point in Georgia to a high of six points in North Carolina.
If third-party and independent candidates are added as options, Trump’s advantage grows in Georgia and North Carolina while slipping some in Michigan.
Biden’s poor polling in swing states appears to be driven by low marks voters give the president on key issues such as the economy and immigration. Trump scores a significantly higher approval among voters than Biden on those issues, with a 54% to 34% edge on the economy and a 52% to 32% edge on immigration. Trump is also seen as being more physically and mentally competent to handle the job than Biden by 48% to 28%, according to The Wall Street Journal Poll.
Biden has an advantage over Trump on abortion, with 45% of voters saying they approve of Biden’s position versus 33% who say they support Trump’s.
Veteran Democratic political consultant James Carville has sounded the alarm among Democrats about Biden’s poor polling.
“When I look at these polling numbers, it’s like walking in on your grandma naked. You can’t get the image out of your mind,” Carville told New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd last month.
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Inside the White House, Biden and his aides are also reportedly concerned about the president’s low approval among voters. Biden allegedly lashes out at aides and allies during strategy sessions and believes that the primary problem is poor messaging about his successes, not his agenda.
The situation appears to have frayed Biden’s relationship with some of his Democratic allies.
“Biden stood up in front of the whole world and said, ‘I’m ready. I’m the guy who can take down Donald Trump,’” Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) said last month. “So, he goddamn well better do it. We don’t have time for him to be worried about whether or not people are saying things right or the poll numbers are where they should be. I want focused energy and not defensive anger.”