On Sunday, ABC News released a poll in conjunction with The Washington Post and the results were apocalyptically bad for Joe Biden's reelection chances against former President Donald Trump. Aside from the Jimmy Carter-like disapproval ratings on the economy and inflation, Biden is now losing to Trump by 9 points in a head-to-head matchup. Of course, ABC's This Week had a near-panic attack when reporting the numbers. It was fun to watch.
"These numbers are simply staggering for the sitting President," ABC political director Rick Klein told co-moderator Martha Raddatz.
Reading out the poll's findings, Klein reported: "44 percent of people in this poll say they are not as well off as they were at the start of the Biden administration 2 1/2 years ago. Those are the worst numbers that we've seen in our ABC News Washington Post polling."
"He's been talking about how inflation has been easing, but people aren't buying it. You covered some of the reasons why. Gas prices, food prices, grocery prices and the like," Klein added. "Right now on the big picture in the economy, 74 percent of the country, that's about three-quarters of Americans who say the economy is either not so good or downright poor."
Raddatz jumped in to note that "it's not just the state of the nation or the policies that are giving people pause on President Biden. It seems to be the man himself."
"Three-quarters of Americans, 74 percent, say that he is too old to effectively serve in a second term. That compares to about 50 percent who say the same around Donald Trump," Klein told Raddatz.
He noted that it's not just Republicans or independents. Democrats feel similarly about Biden's age.
Klein moved onto the "most startling number" in the poll which found "51 percent for Donald Trump over Joe Biden. That is a nine-point edge. Now that's only a couple of points difference from our last poll in May, but it is significantly different than most recent polls."
Now Klein was quick to point out that voters' approval of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade was underwater, but both Klein and Raddatz noted that this was the only good news in the poll for Biden or the Democrat Party.
The transcript is below:
ABC’s This Week
9/24/2023
9:05:25 a.m. EasternRICK KLEIN: Yeah, Martha, these numbers are simply staggering for the sitting President. 44 percent of people in this poll say they are not as well off as they were at the start of the Biden administration 2 1/2 years ago. Those are the worst numbers that we've seen in our ABC News Washington Post polling. It's a question we’ve been asking going back to the Reagan administration, and when you dive into the big questions around the economy, we know President Biden has been out there trying to make the case, unemployment is low. He's been talking about how inflation has been easing, but people aren't buying it. You covered some of the reasons why. Gas prices, food prices, grocery prices and the like. Right now on the big picture in the economy, 74 percent of the country, that's about three-quarters of Americans who say the economy is either not so good or downright poor.
MARTHA RADDATZ: And it's not just the state of the nation or the policies that are giving people pause on President Biden. It seems to be the man himself.
KLEIN: Yeah, Martha. Let's talk about age because we know for sure that the country certainly is. President Biden would be 82 years old on Inauguration Day, 2025. That's how old he is. He's not getting any younger, and of course, perceptions around his ability to perform in the job are not getting any better. Right now, three-quarters of Americans, 74 percent, say that he is too old to effectively serve in a second term. That compares to about 50 percent who say the same around Donald Trump, and it's not just Republicans or Independents who are skeptical over Joe Biden. This is a question we asked, should Biden be at the top of the ticket? 62 percent of Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents said they think that someone else should be the presidential nominee, although the party is deeply split on who that someone else should be.
[...]
KLEIN: Maybe the most startling number in our poll is this, the hypothetical matchup, a rematch of Donald Trump versus Joe Biden. Our poll with the Washington Post pegging this at 51 percent for Donald Trump over Joe Biden. That is a nine-point edge. Now that's only a couple of points difference from our last poll in May, but it is significantly different than most recent polls. It is an outlier compared to other polls we've seen recently. Our partners at fivethirtyeight put together an analysis for us. They an average of recent polls having this more of in the one to two-point range with Joe Biden typically having the edge. Whether you believe that or not, look there's a good chance that there’s people trying to send a message in the polling right now, given the other frustration we've seen. We know in this poll, there’s some quirks, some oddities around the number of black voters and hispanic voters, the younger voters who seem to be supporting Donald Trump. And get this: It's pretty hard to believe, but we asked people whether Donald Trump should be constitutionally disqualified from running for office and among people who said yes, 1 in 5, about 18 percent said they would vote for Trump anyway. So that might just be sending a message that's more anti-Biden than it is pro-Trump, but regardless, the weaknesses that we're seeing for Joe Biden and his approval rating across the board are very real. They're alarming to Democrats even if no one thinks this is ultimately going to be a nine-point race.
