Jake Tapper of CNN did not even attempt to sugarcoat the latest poll results on President Joe Biden’s support.
“Horrible news. Horrible for Joe Biden,” Tapper said Thursday as he launched into the results of CNN’s latest poll tracking Biden’s plummeting support.
“Those are some bad numbers,” he said.
A new CNN poll shows Americans' widespread view that Biden's reelection would be more negative than positive for the country @DavidChalian reports pic.twitter.com/z5JkarxCMJ
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) May 25, 2023
How bad? CNN reports that only 33 percent of those polled believe a second term for Vice President Joe Biden would be an improvement or victory for the country.
According to the poll, 41% of respondents believe electing Biden would be disastrous, while 26% believe it would be a setback for the nation.
In the most recent poll, Biden’s favorability declined from 42 percent in December to 35 percent.
“Thirty-five percent favorable. That is remarkably low,” CNN political director David Challian said.
Challian also noted that Biden’s support among independents dropped from 35% in December to 26% in the most recent poll.
“That’s a big warning sign,” he said.
Although the poll indicated that Biden would be the Democratic nominee in 2024 with a significant majority of support, Challian stated that there was a weakness underlying the figures.
60 percent of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters support Biden, while 20 percent support Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and 8 percent support author Marianne Williamson, which is the same percentage that supports another candidate.
Challian referred to the support Kennedy received from independents as a “potential warning sign,” observing that Kennedy received 32% of the vote from independents with a Democratic lean compared to Biden’s 40%.
SSRS conducted the survey from May 17-20 among a random national sample of 1,227 registered voters, including 432 Democrats and independents who lean Democratic. The margin of error for the entire sample was 3.7 percentage points, while it was 6.2 percentage points for Democrats.
They should be concerned. And that's why we're pushing for mental competency tests for politicians 75+. Too much is at stake. https://t.co/9SjV5TiAoG
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) May 25, 2023
The CNN poll was not the only negative development for Biden. A new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll found that 62 percent of respondents are concerned about Biden’s mental fitness as the 2024 election approaches. Only 36% indicated that it was of no concern.
According to an NPR analysis of the data, 69 percent of respondents under the age of 45, 64 percent of non-white respondents, and 63 percent of suburban residents were concerned about Biden’s mental health. The margin of error for the survey was 3.4 percentage points.