A “blood-curdling scream of rage” is how one left-leaning pundit felt about the latest poll numbers that show President Biden tied or losing to most of the Republican presidential primary field as his approval ratings sink and voters overwhelmingly agree he’s too old to run for another White House term.
At 80, Mr. Biden isn’t just old by the numbers.
His declining mental sharpness and odd behaviors — he inexplicably walked out of a Medal of Honor ceremony this week before it concluded — have kept his age in the news and on the minds of voters.
He’s now tied or losing to many of his prospective GOP opponents.
“Biden’s vote against possible opponents ranges from 43% to 47%. That’s 4 to 8 points below the 51% he received in the 2020 election,” pollster Ron Faucheux told The Washington Times. “That’s a clear indication of weakness. Even though most of the trial heats are close, they also show that a majority of voters are resistant to reelecting the president.”
Two new polls found three-quarters of Americans believe Mr. Biden is too old to serve another four-year term. One of the polls, conducted by Associated Press-NORC, found nearly 70% of Democrats view Mr. Biden as too old to effectively remain in office beyond 2024.
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The president tied in a 2024 CNN general election polling matchup with 38-year-old GOP political newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy and Mr. Biden lost by 6 points to former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, who is 51.
While many Democratic voters say they’d prefer to see someone other than Mr. Biden run as the party nominee in 2024, Mr. Biden has given no indication he plans to step aside and party leaders have thrown their support behind him as they wring their hands over the ominous poll numbers and the president’s gaffes and stumbles.
On the sidelines, his possible replacements appear to be on standby.
Vice President Kamala Harris, 58, subbing in for the president at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, told the Associated Press she did not expect Mr. Biden to leave office prematurely but would be ready to step in if he does.
“Joe Biden is going to be fine, so that is not going to come to fruition,” Mrs. Harris said. “But let us also understand that every vice president understands that when they take the oath they must be very clear about the responsibility they may have to take over the job of being president. I’m no different.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom, 55, also is waiting in the wings if Mr. Biden does not end up on the 2024 ballot.
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He has publicly pledged to support Mr. Biden’s reelection but is acting more like a presidential candidate. He irked the Biden campaign team by agreeing to a debate with GOP presidential contender Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and is building a political action committee to take on red state governors.
He also has slowed California’s rapid transition to green energy in the wake of increasing blackouts and high electric bills, a move some believe indicates he’s looking to broaden his appeal to voters.
“I think a young Democrat would have an excellent shot, a much better shot against Trump,” David Paleologos, the director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, told The Times.
Mr. Biden’s age is not his only problem with voters. His overall approval rating has been stuck in the low 40% range for a year and has now dipped to 38% and 39% in three polls released since Sept. 5.
On Thursday, a new CNN poll dropped a hammer blow on the Biden camp with numbers showing broad and significant dissatisfaction with the president, even among Democrats.
“Views of Biden’s performance in office and on where the country stands are deeply negative,” the new poll found.
Only 39% of voters approved of the job he’s doing. While the president has gone on the road to promote the benefits of “Bidenomics,” 58% think his policies have worsened the U.S. economy, an increase of 8 points from a poll taken in the fall of 2022.
“His numbers are a disaster,” Jim McLaughlin, a pollster and political consultant who conducts polls for former President Donald Trump, told The Washington Times. “It’s because he’s failing. Americans’ lives are getting worse as a result of his policies.”
Mr. McLaughlin pointed out a particularly threatening poll number from the CNN survey: Among critical independent voters, 64% disapprove of Mr. Biden’s performance.
The president would stand a good chance of losing against just about the entire GOP field.
In addition to tying Mr. Ramaswamy and losing to Mrs. Haley, the CNN poll showed Mr. Biden losing by a point to Mr. Trump, 77, and tied with Mr. DeSantis, 44.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, 64, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, 61, and Sen. Tim Scott, 57, of South Carolina, each polled 2 points ahead of Mr. Biden.
Mr. Biden’s salvation may be that he’s polling several points higher than Mrs. Harris, which makes her a less attractive replacement on the 2024 ballot. His most likely GOP opponent, Mr. Trump, faces his own problems winning the support of voters if he becomes the nominee, including a mountain of legal troubles.
While he’s the runaway favorite to win the Republican Party nomination, an AP-NORC poll found that 64% of general election voters said they would definitely or probably not vote for Mr. Trump in November 2024.
The former president is up against 91 criminal charges in four separate cases that threaten to sideline him from the campaign trail.
Mr. Paleologos said the CNN poll showed a significant lack of enthusiasm among general election voters for either Mr. Biden or Mr. Trump, which he said creates an avenue for an independent candidate.
“You could drive a truck through the lane that’s being opened up by this poll,” he said.
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.