Donald Trump has not only defeated all his Republican opponents in the polls for the American presidency; He would also beat Joe Biden at this moment, according to a controversial poll by The Washington Post and ABC news channel.
Of course, the Biden camp is putting things into perspective because the design of the poll in question would have been somewhat suggestive, but the Democratic Party is quite shocked. Although this controversial survey deviates significantly from the average of opinion polls, there is still something in the air that is difficult for Joe Biden to ignore. Most polls suggest that the incumbent president and his predecessor are at least in some kind of neck-and-neck race for the coming year. But this poll, published on Sunday, revealed that Biden could only count on 42 percent support compared to a whopping 51 percent for challenger Trump. The fact that both went together was remarkable given the legal problems Donald Trump is facing. His popularity does not seem to suffer at all; on the contrary, Trump is only strengthening his position.
According to Willem Post, an America expert affiliated with the Clingendael Institute, it is a bit too easy not to take this poll seriously, as some American commentators are now doing. “This result may be a bit exaggerated. And there are some questions about the way this survey is designed, but this should certainly be a warning to Democrats as well. The fact that Trump, despite everything and all his legal problems, is still at least keeping pace with Biden is actually incredible.”
‘People don’t feel it’
Donna Brazile, former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, did not dismiss the outcome. She reads that Biden still struggles to convey his message effectively. Brazile emphasizes that many American voters are angry about the rising cost of living and that while Biden’s message of improving their conditions may be true in many ways, “people aren’t feeling it.”
Post also thinks that the Democrats are vulnerable in the run-up to 2024, and not only because of the sometimes fragile impression that Joe Biden makes compared to the spectacle that Trump puts on at his election rallies. “Trump is the champion among the populists. If there is any dissatisfaction, no one knows better than Donald Trump to capitalize on it. The man has mastered all the tricks. But there’s more. Inflation, while lower than elsewhere, continues to fuel the dissatisfaction of many Americans. Add to that the concerns about crime and migration and the costs of the war in Ukraine, for which enormous sums of money are also being allocated.”
American military support now amounts to almost 130 billion euros. Biden may have said that he wants to invest in America, but he also remains strongly involved in diplomacy and foreign policy, Post sees. “The large middle class in America increasingly thinks that Europeans should arrange their own affairs. This sentiment is especially prevalent among Republicans, but a significant portion of Democrats also think this way.”
Excessive polling against Biden or not; Trump remains untouchable within his own party, with a current 37-point lead over his nearest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. No other Republican rival receives more than 6 percent support from their own voters, and more than half do not even reach 1 percent.
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