Democrats Sound Alarm About Joe Biden's Abysmal Poll Numbers

After new polling showed President Joe Biden behind several Republican 2024 hopefuls, some leading Democratic lawmakers and strategists are raising concerns about the 80-year-old commander-in-chief's viability to win reelection.

Biden has been plagued by concerns about his age and health throughout his tenure in the White House. These worries were exacerbated as the president's approval rating plummeted after the rocky U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 and the decades-high inflation that fueled economic stress across the nation.

Polling data released by CNN and SSRS on Thursday spelled even more bad news for Biden, as it showed the Democratic incumbent trailing several Republican candidates in hypothetical head-to-head matchups.

Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley lead the president by 6 points, with 49 percent support compared to his 43 percent. Former Vice President Mike Pence, South Carolina's GOP Senator Tim Scott and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie were all 2 points ahead of Biden, and the president was tied with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Former President Donald Trump, the clear frontrunner in the Republican field, also was ahead of Biden by 1 point.

The survey, which was carried out from August 25 to 31, included 1,259 registered voters and had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

"You got to be concerned about those poll numbers, you just do," Senator Jon Tester, a Montana Democrat, told The Hill for an article published on Sunday. "There's plenty of time to get them back up. Whether he can or not, I just don't know but you got to be concerned."

The CNN/SSRS survey revealed that nearly three-quarters of voters are "seriously" concerned about Biden's mental and physical competence. Sixty percent of Democratic and Democrat-leaning respondents also said they were "seriously" concerned the incumbent would lose reelection.

"Well, I guess, to say the least, the polls were not great," prominent Democratic strategist James Carville told CNN last week. "And it tells us that, you know, voters are expressing some apprehension here. It's pretty clear. There's not much else you can say when you look at them."

"These numbers are not good, and they're consistent with most of the other polling that we've seen. The country is in a sour mood. He's not getting credit for what I think is a fairly substantial list of achievements," David Axelrod, who worked as strategist for former President Barack Obama, also told CNN. "And the reality is, if this were a referendum, he would be in deep, deep trouble."

Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, said that voters are unhappy with Biden as well as Trump.

"I think the people have basically spoken loud and clear," he said in an interview with CNN. "They're not happy with the two choices—and only choices."

Recent polling conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies for Newsweek found that a majority of Democrats said they were "concerned" about Biden's ability to perform his job given the fact that he's already the oldest president in U.S. history. Survey results from The Wall Street Journal at the end of August showed that 57 percent of voters disapprove of Biden while only 42 percent approve.

Meanwhile, Biden's defenders tout his record of legislative accomplishments, including several large bipartisan bills regarding infrastructure, guns and LGBTQ+ rights. They also say that his administration isn't getting adequate credit for the post-COVID economic recovery, blaming much of the inflation on factors outside of the White House's control.

"The great news is that President Biden has a very strong record to run on," Senator Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, told ABC News' This Week on Sunday.

"There's work to be done, stronger messaging, more aggressive campaigning but we're still very, very early," Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, told The Hill.

Newsweek reached out to Biden's reelection campaign via email for comment.