By Dave Andrusko
Yesterday I wrote about the five alarm fire an article in the New York Times set ablaze.
The headline to Shane Goldmacher’s story read “Trump Leads in 5 Critical States as Voters Blast Biden, Times/Sienna Poll Finds”—and it has completely dominated the panicky discourse in Democratic circles since it ran Sunday.
Byron York described the key conclusion:
The story was based on a new survey in which voters in six key swing states — Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nevada — were asked whether they supported President Joe Biden or former President Donald Trump in a 2024 matchup. The result: In five of those states, all except Wisconsin, Trump led Biden.
The Washington Post perfectly captured the shock and awe the pro-abortion media experience: “Eight columnists discuss: How in the world is Trump winning?”.
After such a brutal poll, former Obama adviser David Axelrod suggested it would be ‘wise’ for Biden to drop out of the 2024 race:
“Only @JoeBiden can make this decision. If he continues to run, he will be the nominee of the Democratic Party. What he needs to decide is whether that is wise; whether it’s in HIS best interest or the country’s?” Axelrod asked in a thread on X.
David Strom, writing for Hot Air, observed “By the numbers: Sunday’s New York Times poll of six swing states (all of which Biden won last time) was brutal. While we’re skeptical of any one poll, this one is directionally in line with others. Let these once unthinkable findings sink in:
- Biden’s support among nonwhite voters dropped 33 points compared to 2020 results.
- The more diverse a state, the worse Biden does, The Times found.
- Trump’s support among Black voters popped to 22 points, which The Times called “unseen in presidential politics for a Republican in modern times.”
- Biden’s lead among Hispanics is in single digits in the six swing states polled (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin). Democrats typically win among Hispanics by 30+ points.
- A CBS News/YouGov poll out Sunday had a similarly worrisome finding for Democrats: “Hispanic voters are much likelier to say their finances would improve under Trump than Mr. Biden. And most Black voters do not expect their finances to change if Mr. Biden wins again.”
Of course there were some [what’s the opposite of naysayers?] who dismissed the findings. They said Obama experienced a similar scare against Romney and rallied to win. But Matt Lewis, writing in the Daily Beast, explained
Unfortunately, this comparison doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. Obama was a once-in-a-generation political talent; Biden is not. Obama also had the potential to excite and drive the turnout of young voters and minority voters. Biden does not.
What is more, Obama was running against Mitt Romney, a Republican he could villainize and define (see the “war on women,” “binders full of women,” “the 47 percent,” etc.) and whose personal comportment caused to him to be not the most effective political pugilist.
There’s much, much more to talk about which we will tomorrow.