As the US Presidential election approaches within a year, President Joe Biden is escalating his public condemnation of Donald Trump. Last week, Biden expressed that a significant reason for his reelection bid is to thwart Trump’s potential return to the White House.
“I might not be running if Trump weren’t in the race. But we must ensure he doesn’t win,” emphasized Mr. Biden. These remarks coincide with numerous polls suggesting a neck-and-neck competition between the two candidates in a hypothetical runoff held today, with some surveys indicating Mr. Trump surpassing Mr. Biden in support.
Ironically, according to some analysts, Biden could be the catalyst for Trump’s potential resurgence.
Recent polling data aggregated in the final week of November from 11 different sources by FiveThirtyEight revealed that 39.1% of voters held a favorable opinion of Biden, whereas 42.1% favored Trump. Similarly, unfavorable ratings for Joe Biden stood at 54.7%, slightly higher than Donald Trump’s 53.2%.
The 81-year-old incumbent is also facing the lowest approval ratings at this stage of his presidency compared to as many as 12 of his predecessors spanning the last 80 years.
Age is a key factor working against Biden at the moment (he will be 82 if elected), coupled with dissatisfaction over the state of the economy and his handling of the Israel-Gaza war, particularly among voters between the ages of 18 and 34, causing concern within the Democratic Party.
Furthermore, a recent New York Times/Siena poll showed Biden trailing Trump in five out of six battleground states. Trump’s popularity remains high despite facing a series of criminal cases, with a trial scheduled for next year.
Trumps 2.0 ??
Despite these factors, Trump has not dismissed the possibility of wielding power if he makes a return to the White House. In a recent Fox News event, when questioned about the potential abuse of power, Trump responded, “Except for day one, I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill.”
In response, President Biden and his campaign team have been outspoken in recent weeks, explicitly identifying and criticizing Trump. They are underscoring the distinctions between the two leaders and cautioning the public about the potential risks and instability that could accompany Trump’s return to the role of Commander in Chief.
A considerable faction within the Democratic Party believes that this approach could serve as a defense mechanism for Biden, deflecting a significant portion of the criticism he encounters on various fronts by essentially reiterating why Trump was perceived as a problematic figure.
In a recent NPR interview, Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, noted that party volunteers are actively engaging with voters who typically do not align with the Democratic Party. They aim to convey the potential risks associated with Trump’s return to the White House.
Nonetheless, dismissing Donald Trump won’t be a simple task. He has emphasized Biden’s age, suggesting that the President may not “physically make it” through the campaign. Furthermore, Trump has asserted that Biden’s mental state is even more concerning than his physical condition.
However, a substantial caveat exists: 11 months is not merely an extended period but a considerable span in the realm of politics, and President Biden’s current low poll numbers could undergo significant alterations. President Obama encountered a similar trajectory.
Ultimately, Americans must grapple with the decision of whether to reinstate a leader who was profoundly divisive, contentious, and even perceived as hazardous. While they managed to navigate through Trump’s first term, predicting the potential upheaval he might unleash in a second term remains a challenging task.
