Joe Biden is losing ground to his Republican rival Donald Trump, who is ahead of him in a poll published Saturday by the newspaper New York Timesand shows “alarming signals” for the current American president among some Democratic voters.
The publication of this poll comes eight months before the November election, and four days before “Super Tuesday”, a crucial event during which 15 states simultaneously organize their Democratic and Republican primaries. Joe Biden and Donald Trump are almost guaranteed to be nominated by their respective parties.
If voters were to decide today to elect their president, 43% would vote for Mr. Biden, compared to 48% for Mr. Trump, according to this national poll by the New York Times and Siena College.
The 81-year-old Democratic president may insist, with supporting figures, that the economy is doing well, “only one in four voters think that the country is moving in the right direction”, with “a majority of voters (who ) thinks the economy is bad,” according to the newspaper.
This poll reveals “a series of alarming signals for the president regarding weaknesses within the Democratic camp, particularly among women, black and Latino voters”, as well as some workers, wrote the New York Times.
Despite his numerous legal setbacks, Mr. Trump’s control over the Republican Party on the contrary gives a “more united” camp: the ex-president “wins 97% of the votes of those who say they voted for him four years ago , and virtually none of his former supporters have said they want to vote for Mr. Biden.”
Conversely, “Mr. Biden is receiving only 83% of his 2020 voters, with 10% of them saying they now support Mr. Trump,” added the New York Times.
In addition to the economy, the age of President Biden, 81, as well as his firm support for Israel, at war in Gaza, also explain the unease within part of the Democratic electorate.
In November, the New York Times had published a poll one year before the presidential election already showing Mr. Trump ahead of Mr. Biden in five out of six key states, with the Democrat losing ground among young people and minorities.