According to a new national poll, two-thirds of Americans say President Joe Biden doesn’t deserve to be re-elected.
Only 32% of people responding to a Thursday CNN survey said the president deserves another term in the White House. The number is down from 37% in the cable network’s December survey. Sixty-seven percent of polled Americans say Biden deserves to be re-elected, which is an increase over the 62% seen late last year.
Biden’s approval rating among all Americans in the poll remains in negative territory. He has repeatedly said he intends to seek a second term in the White House but has made no formal announcement.
However, President Biden hinted at a re-election campaign during an early February speech to activists and party leaders at the Democrat National Committee’s winter meeting in Philadelphia. During the speech, he emphasized that “we’re just getting started” and “I intend to get…more done.”
Biden, who is 80, made history in 2020 as the oldest person ever elected in U.S. history. If he decides to run and wins, he will be 82 at the time of his second inauguration and 86 at the end of his second term.
According to the CNN poll, only 32% of respondents say Biden has the sharpness and stamina to serve as president, with two-thirds in disagreement efficiently.
Among Democrat-leaning independents and Democrats, 44% said the president should be the candidate in 2024. The number is up from 40% in the December survey. Fifty-four percent say they prefer a different presidential nominee, down from 59%.
Of individuals who said they wanted another candidate, 69% said they just wanted “someone besides Joe Biden.”
Of the 31% of those polled who named a specific alternative, 5% mentioned the 2016 and 2020 runner-up in the Democratic nomination race, Bernie Sanders, 4% said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, with Vice President Kamala Harris and former First Lady Michelle Obama each with 3%.
Voters who say they are Democrats were evenly split at 49% over whether the president represents the party’s best opportunity to win the presidency in 2024.
Trump’s support grows since December poll
Among Republican-leaning independents and GOP voters, 52% said the party should choose former President Donald Trump as the nominee, with 47% saying they prefer a different candidate.
Trump’s support is up from 38% in the December poll, with support for a different candidate down from 62% from the same survey in December.
Of polled individuals looking for a different Republican candidate, 28% preferred Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, with 4% naming former Vice President Mike Pence.
Forty-nine percent of those polled said the GOP would have a better chance of winning the presidential election with Donald Trump as the party’s nominee, with 50% saying the party would have a better chance with a different candidate.
The CNN poll was conducted between March 1-31. It questioned 1,595 adults across the nation. The overall sampling error is plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.
