Voters are largely dissatisfied with President Biden’s performance and oppose his re-election. New Washington Post/ABC News Poll —but they don’t like the Republican best option either, reflecting the deep chasm between what Americans want and the options available to them.
In a hypothetical general election matchup, Mr. Biden announced his re-election campaign Last month, he followed former President Donald J. Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who are frontrunners in the Republican primary. But in a Washington Post poll, neither he topped 45%, and many voters said they hadn’t decided yet or were nominated for another candidate.
In the Biden-Trump showdown, 44% of respondents said they would definitely or probably vote for Trump, while 38% voted for Biden. In the Biden-DeSantis showdown, 42% said they would definitely or probably vote for DeSantis, while 37% voted for Biden. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.5%.
As has been the case in polls in recent months, the majority of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters (58%, plus or minus 5.5% margin of error) want the party to nominate someone other than Biden. said he was. In 2024, that preference in principle doesn’t mean there are actual candidates they actually prefer. I didn’t ask about Song, but Biden led them by a wide margin in other polls.
Opinion polls showed Mr. Trump more than twice as popular as Mr. DeSantis in the Republican primary, but not a majority. He was 43% and DeSantis 20%. No other Republican lawmaker had an approval rating higher than his 2%, with 27% undecided.
In voter opinion, Mr. Biden’s numbers were bleak. His approval rating was a dismal 36%, with 56% disapproving of his work (47% strongly disapproving). More than 60% said he lacked the physical health and “mental sharpness” to function effectively as president.
Mr. Trump did well with these prompts. 64% of voters said he was physically fit enough and 54% said he was mentally sharp. He said he handled the economy well.
Voters tended to think of Biden as honest and trustworthy (41%), but more likely to think of Trump as such (33%).
A majority of voters said Trump should face criminal charges in three investigations. One about his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, one about his role in his Jan. It concerns handling. In his fourth lawsuit related to hush money payments to porn stars, his 49% majority upheld the charges already filed against him.
In another sign of the disconnect between greed and political reality, a significant number of voters said Biden wasn’t smart enough to be president or that Trump deserved criminal charges. A minority of respondents said they would definitely or probably vote. For one of them anyway.
