Only a third of American say Biden deserves re-election as president: poll

Two-thirds of Americans say that President Biden doesn’t deserve to be re-elected, according to a new national poll.

Only 32% of those questioned in a CNN survey released on Thursday said the president deserves a second term in the White House, down from 37% in the cable news network’s December poll. Sixty-seven percent said Biden doesn’t deserve to be re-elected, up from 62% late last year.

Biden, whose approval ratings with all Americans in the CNN poll remain in negative territory, has repeatedly said that he intends to seek a second term in the White House, but he has yet to make any formal announcements. 

However, the president hinted towards a re-election campaign during a speech in early February to party leaders and activists at the DNC’s winter meeting in Philadelphia, when he emphasized that ‘we’re just getting started’ and that ‘I intend to get… more done.’

The 80-year-old Biden made history in 2020 as the oldest person elected president in American history. If he runs and wins re-election, Biden would be 82 at the time of his second inaugural and 86 at the end of the second term.

According to the poll, just 32% of respondents said Biden has the stamina and sharpness to serve effectively as president, with two-thirds disagreeing.

Among Democrat and Democrat-leaning independents, 44% said Biden should be the party’s standard-bearer in 2024. That’s up from 40% in December’s survey. Fifty-four percent said they want a different presidential nominee, down from 59%. Of those who said they wanted a different candidate, 69% offered that they just want ‘someone besides Joe Biden.’

Of the 31% who named a specific alternative, 5% said Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the 2016 and 2020 runner-up in the Democratic nomination race, 4% said Transportation Secy. Pete Buttigieg, who ran for the 2020 nomination, with Vice President Kamala and former First Lady Michelle Obama each at 3%.

Democratic voters were evenly split at 49% on whether Biden represents the party’s best chance at winning the presidency in 2024.

Among Republican voters and GOP leaning independents, 52% said the party should nominate former President Donald Trump, with 47% saying a different candidate.

Support for Trump — who in November launched his third straight presidential campaign — is up from 38% in CNN’s December poll, with support for a different candidate down from 62% late last year.

Of those looking for a different GOP presidential nominee, 28% named Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and 4% named former Vice President Mike Pence.

Forty-nine percent said the GOP has a better chance of winning the 2024 presidential election with Trump as the party’s standard-bearer, with 50% saying the party would be more successful with a different nominee.

The CNN poll was conducted March 1-31, with 1,595 adults nationwide questioned. The survey’s overall sampling error is plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.