NBC News released a poll on Sunday showing President Trump has the largest lead yet over Joe Biden and very low approval numbers for Biden on the economy, border, foreign policy and his competence to do the job of president. Biden's overall approval reached an all-time low in the NBC poll at 37 percent to a staggering 60 percent disapproval. Biden's strong support rate is only 16 percent, while his strong disapproval rate is 49 percent. A year ago, Biden's approval/disapproval ratio was 46/50. (Kamala Harris fared even worse with a 28/53 percent positive/negative opinion.)
The poll was so brutal for Biden, that Meet the Press host Kristen Welker quoted an unnamed pollster as saying: “We're looking at the quote, 'The presidency is in jeopardy.'”
Only 22% believe that the country is moving in the “right direction,” while 73% believe that the country is on the “wrong track.” Biden's approval rating for the economy is 36%, foreign policy is 34%, and dealing with the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is only 29%.
Trump leads Biden in direct confrontation, by 47 percent versus 42 percent, which is a decline from June 2023 when Biden led Trump by 49 percent versus 45 percent. (In a multi-candidate field, Trump leads Biden 41% to 35%). Trump dominates Biden with independents, 48 percent to 29 percent.
Trump dominates Biden on key issues, by a wide margin on the following:
Securing borders and controlling immigration +35; To have the mental and physical health necessary to be president +23; Dealing with the economy +22; Dealing with crime and violence +21; To be competent and effective +16; And improve America's position in the world +11.
NBC News Poll: Confidence to do better…
Border security
Trump 57% (+35)
Biden 22%
.
Economy
Trump 55% (+22)
Biden 33%
.
Dealing with crime and violence
Trump 50% (+21)
Biden 29%
.
To be competent and effective
Trump 48% (+16)
Biden 32%
.
Improving America’s position in… https://t.co/ZHgulq5t7g pic.twitter.com/1BA25lo9A4— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) February 4, 2024
On Biden's signature issue of “protecting democracy,” his margin of error is only two points, or 43 to 41 percent. Biden has a similar margin of error of two points if Trump is convicted of a felony, 45 to 43 percent. The only two issues Biden is addressing decisively are: Dealing with the topic of abortion +12; Treating migrants humanely and protecting the rights of migrants +17.
Trump is actually tied with Biden in key voter demographics by one point over Biden with Latinos, 42 to 41 percent, and 18- to 34-year-olds, 42-42 percent.
Videos posted by the Trump campaign:
“With the general election just nine months away, President Biden has regressed by every measure since 2020, struggling with key elements of his base, and now trailing former President Donald Trump by a wide margin on the issues voters say are most important to them.” pic.twitter.com/1woKptZmx2
— MAGA War Room (@MAGAIncWarRoom) February 4, 2024
Kornacki: “This is the largest lead NBC has ever had in 16 polls for Donald Trump over Joe Biden.” pic.twitter.com/xEzItadrHR
– Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) February 4, 2024
The full clip posted by NBC News:
You can read the full survey at this link.
Details of the NBC poll conducted by Hart Research Associates/Public Policy Strategies: “The NBC News poll was conducted Jan. 26-30 of 1,000 registered voters — 867 contacted by cellphone — and has an overall margin of error of 3.1 percent.” points. The margin of error for the 349 Republican primary voters is plus or minus 5.25 percentage points.
This is a poll conducted ten months before voting began. A lot could change, but unlike Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, Biden so far shows no signs of making midterm corrections to stave off electoral disaster in November. Going to the middle worked for Clinton in 1996, but not for Carter in 1980, who, like Biden, faced inflation and foreign policy disasters in his bid for a second term.
Note: Historian Larry Schweikart notes that even with a wide margin of support for Biden from African-American voters, Trump has garnered significant support since 2020:
More on the absolutely shocking NBC poll:
Among Hispanic voters, Trump leads Rutabaga by one margin (he lost in 2020 by 21); Tracks with blacks by 59. “Oh, that's as terrible as you say.” no.In 2020, Trump lost blacks by 84 points, gaining a shocking 25 points!!
It is interesting to see how…
– Larry Schweikart (@LarrySchweikart) February 4, 2024
