Veteran Democratic political consultant James Carville says President Joe Biden’s sagging poll numbers are “like walking in on your grandma naked.”
Carville offered the bawdy metaphor to The New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd in an interview that addressed the current state of the Democratic Party. Polls lately have reflected that Biden, in particular, is in a tough spot with voters as he seeks re-election.
“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 the columnist.
Biden trails his presumptive Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, in all seven battleground states, according to the RealClearPolitics polling averages of voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Biden’s age and consistent gaffes have especially taken a toll on his public image, according to Carville. Compared to Trump, the 81-year-old Biden appears slower, weaker, and more a victim of old age than his 77-year-old competitor.
“If you do a focus group,” Carville said, “the first thing out of anybody’s mouth is ‘Old,’ so how do you say we’re going to act like this doesn’t exist?”
“Now don’t tell me that Biden has more energy or cognition than Trump because it’s evident that, yeah, Trump’s got word salads, but he projects energy,” Carville continued. “He’s insane. He’s a criminal of the first order. But he does have a little timing and a little sense of humor and knows how to move from one story to the other.”
In an NBC News poll from early February, three-quarters of voters, including half of Democrats, expressed concerns about the octogenarian president’s mental and physical health as he campaigns for another four years in office. Voters have expressed concerns about Trump as well, though not to the same degree.
Asked about how Biden can blunt or reverse course and bolster his polling numbers, Carville suggested that staying the course was the president’s only option.
“I don’t think he can do much more than soldier on and let the Democratic groups kick in,” the longtime Democratic strategist said.