Rachel Schilke of the Washington Examiner reports on bad polling information for the president.
President Joe Biden’s biggest hurdles for his reelection campaign are his handling of the economy and his age, two areas that could have implications for voters in 2024.
A Wall Street Journal poll shows that 73% of respondents believe that Biden is too old to run for president again, with 60% indicating that they do not believe Biden is “mentally up for the job.”
A majority of registered voters, 59%, also said they disapproved of how Biden has handled the economy, with 63% of voters saying the same for inflation and 58% saying the same for the growth of the middle class.
The poll comes as the president continues to tout “Bidenomics,” his administration’s economic agenda, as the cause of positive economic developments, including slowing inflation and job growth. The Bureau of Labor Statistics issued its employment report on Friday, announcing that the economy beat expectations and added 187,000 jobs in August.
The economy remained the top priority for voters who responded to the poll, with 24% saying it will affect who they would vote for in the 2024 presidential election, followed by immigration at 11%, abortion at 8%, and inflation at 6%.
Among registered voters, 36% rated the strength of the U.S. economy as “poor,” and 32% rated the economy as “good.” Among Republican primary voters, 61% selected a “poor” rating.
In a negative outcome for Biden, 58% of voters said the economy has gotten worse over the past two years, compared to the 28% of voters who said it has gotten better since Biden took office.
Still, voters are evenly split on which candidate they would support if the 2024 election were held today, with both former President Donald Trump and Biden getting 46% support.
