Handwringing Will Continue Until Biden’s Polling Improves
“What we’re doing isn’t working,” fretted one prominent Democratic Party analyst recently. “We need a new strategy.”
“Most voters think Biden’s economy isn’t working,” worried Doyle McManus for the LA Times this week. “Can he change their minds?”
It was an interesting take on President Joe Biden’s recent struggles in the polls. Not, “Can Biden turn the economy around in time for Election Day” but “Can Biden convince voters they aren’t cash-strapped and paying more — much, much more — for everything?”
“Biden’s 2024 Problem: Voters Say His Policies Hurt Them,” wrote Andrew Restuccia and Amara Omeokwe for the Wall Street Journal on December 17, 2023. “A recent Wall Street Journal poll finds Americans feel far more positive about former President Donald Trump’s record than they do about President Biden’s.”
“And that presents a challenge for Biden and his campaign strategists: How can they persuade unhappy voters not only that better times are ahead, but that he deserves some credit?” admitted McManus for the LA Times.
“The president’s initial strategy was to trumpet the economy’s recovery and point to his legislative accomplishments — an infrastructure bill, spending on technology jobs, negotiations to cut drug prices — as the engine behind it,” he noted. “He called it ‘Bidenomics,’ but the self-congratulatory slogan fell flat. Some surveys showed that mentioning it made voters grouchier.”
“Democrats are understandably alarmed,” understated McManus.
The White House, he noted, has been getting a lot of unsolicited free advice from Democratic Party analysts, strategists, former elected officials, and pundits. The advice has mostly been the same: “Something isn’t working; do something else.”
The LA Times isn’t the only progressive outlet concerned about Biden’s polling struggles in light of the economy, the border crisis, and the Israel-Hamas war in the Middle East.
Comedian Bill Maher has been outspoken about the viability and reliability of President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign in recent months.
“Someone has to convince President Biden that if he runs again, he’s going to turn the country back over to Trump and go down in history as Ruth Bader Biden, the person who doesn’t know when to quit and so does great damage to their party and their country,” Maher only half-joked on his recent program.
He isn’t the only prominent Democrat to doubt President Joe Biden’s reelection prospects.
“Former Obama adviser Axelrod says Biden should consider dropping out of 2024,” reported Sudiksha Kochi for USA TODAY on November 6, 2023.
“Would Biden help Democrats by dropping out?” wondered analyst Douglas E. Schoen for The Hill on November 28, 2023.
“The Alarming Calm of the Biden Campaign,” fretted Gabriel Debenedetti for New York magazine. “Inside reelection HQ, the president’s aides feel confident that the 2024 race is totally under control.”
Outsiders seem less sure.
“Biden faces battle with Democratic base over Israel, Ukraine, border,” revealed Alexander Bolton for The Hill this week.
“Young Democrats in particular are increasingly disaffected with Biden’s handling of Israel’s war in Gaza, complicating his ability to connect with a key demographic that views the president’s age as a red flag,” wrote Bolton. “Now Biden also faces blowback from Latino and progressive voters about the border security deal.”
While the Biden Administration may appear overly calm to some journalists, a recent behind-the-scenes vignette from the Washington Post presents a far different picture.
“Biden said to be increasingly frustrated by dismal poll numbers,” reported Tyler Pager on December 18 for the Post. “In one recent meeting, he said poll numbers were unacceptably low and he wanted to know what his team and his campaign were doing about it.”
“For months, the president and first lady Jill Biden have told aides and friends they are frustrated by the president’s low approval rating and the polls that show him trailing former president Donald Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination — and in recent weeks, they have grown upset that they are not making more progress,” revealed Pager.
One of the answers Democratic Party analysts seem to have arrived at is the encourage more prolific positive news coverage of Biden’s accomplishments and get more media outlets delivering on-message.
Will it work in time for Election Day 2024?
(contributing writer, Brooke Bell)