US Election 2024: 61% Voters Call Biden’s Presidency “Failure”

Donald Trump maintains his lead over Joe Biden. The former president and Republican candidate has 49% preference, while the outgoing president manages to get 43%. These are the results of a public opinion poll conducted by CNN, known for its “Democratic” preference. Compared to the previous poll conducted in January, the Republican candidate has remained stable, while the incumbent has lost two percent of his support.

But there is other very troubling news for old Biden: 61% of American voters surveyed by CNN said they believe “Biden’s presidency so far has been a real failure.” Only 39% of Americans voted for the 81-year-old occupant of the White House. Even in these parts, voters’ perceptions of the years of Trump’s presidency are improving. In April 2024, 55% of Americans view his administration as a “success” compared to 44% who define it as a “failure.”

As CNN recalled, “in January 2021, days after Biden’s inauguration, 55% considered Trump’s recently concluded presidency ‘a failure.’” The poll also shows that Republicans are more convinced that Trump’s presidency has been a success (92%) than Democratic voters of the same opinion of Biden’s presidency (only 73%). Among independent candidates, 51% view the Trump administration favorably, compared with 37% who view the current presidency favorably.

What influences U.S. voters’ negative opinion of Biden at this point is primarily his “handling of the Gaza crisis”: overall, 71% disapprove of him, while among those under 35, that figure rises immediately to 81% negative views of White House policy in the Middle East.

“Not much better,” CNN noted, “was voters’ opinion of the White House’s handling of the economy, with fewer than 34% approving.” For 65% of American voters, the issue of the economy will dominate the November ballot.

And in this difficult, not to say dramatic, situation for the Democratic Party, Biden thought of nothing better than to attack his rival Trump using irony. At a dinner with White House correspondents, Joe Biden said, “We are in the middle of an election campaign. Age is an issue, I’m a grown man running in a race against a six-year-old.” So, Biden thought he was neutralizing voters’ concerns about his advanced age and the nickname Trump gave him, “Sleepy Joe.”