Updated 01:04 | Published 00:32
Donald Trump has been counted out in the race for the White House countless times after all the indictments.
But now Joe Biden gets a real blow.
“The head is exploding now,” says Jason Miller, the former president’s adviser.
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In yet another in a series of blunders that have gained attention in the United States, Joe Biden called rapper and actor LL Cool J “LL J Cool J” in a presentation over the weekend.
He also said:
– That boy, the man, has bigger biceps than my thighs.
The president used the word “boy”, which in the US can have racist undertones, especially if it is said about a 55-year-old black man.
Forgot health
Earlier in the week, Biden forgot to shake hands with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at a joint speech, in a speech on gun violence he falsely said he had “been at every mass shooting” and in another speech appeared to tell the same story twice about why he ran in the 2020 election.
In addition, especially in conservative media, clips of Biden walking slowly and stumbling are often shown.
Last summer, the president fell limply over a sandbag while presenting diplomas to recruits at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.
He had to be helped to his feet by a trio of people who came running.
Getting hit hard
For top Democrats, Biden’s perceived fragility is something they fear during the election campaign.
The attention has made many Americans think the 80-year-old president should retire.
Now comes a new blow for Joe Biden and the Democrats. The poll from ABC News/Washington Post is not fun reading in the White House.
Among registered voters, Donald Trump now leads 52-42 in a possible battle against the president in the 2024 election.
As the superior leader among the Republican candidates, it is likely to be between these two that the fight will be.
Despite four indictments and a total of 91 charges, concerning everything from having brought classified documents home to trying to steal Joe Biden’s victory in the last election, Donald Trump cannot be counted out.
Bad grades
For Trump and his advisors, it is an added spice that the happiness measurement comes from the Washington Post, a newspaper that has been accused of being left-leaning in its sympathies.
“Heads are now exploding at Jeff Bezos’ Amazon Washington Post,” writes the former president’s adviser Jason Miller at X, formerly Twitter, and refers to the magazine’s owner.
If the poll gives a true picture of where voters’ sympathies currently lie, Donald Trump is more popular now than during both the 2016 election (when he received 46 percent of the vote) and 2020 (almost 47 percent).
For the White House, the survey is a nightmare in other ways as well.
Only 37 percent of those polled think Joe Biden is doing a good job.
“Incredibly incompetent”
When it comes to how the president is handling the current issues of the economy and immigration, the numbers are even worse. Only 30 and 23 percent, respectively, appreciate Biden’s job in these areas.
In the ABC News/Washington Post poll last May, 68 percent said Joe Biden is too old for a second term. Just a few months later, that figure is now up to 74 percent.
For Donald Trump, who is only three years younger, the corresponding figure is 50 percent.
And for him, who would be older when he leaves the White House if he wins again than Biden is now, it’s important that age not become a major election issue. Especially as he faces significantly younger opponents in the Republican primary.
– Biden is not too old. However, he is incredibly incompetent. He was already 25 years ago. People are different. I know 90-year-olds who are razor sharp. Others lose it as early as their 50s, Trump said recently in an interview.
Tailwind for Trump
The ex-president is now in a real tailwind, despite the attention surrounding all the charges.
When he left the White House in January 2021, 38 percent said he had done a good job. In the new survey, 48 percent say they are satisfied with his efforts as president.
ABC News says in its analysis of its own survey that it is early in the election campaign and that it is not possible to draw any real conclusions about the outcome of the election.
Other measurements have been considerably more even.
But it is written that “Biden is unpopular in broad circles and the voters feel great doubt about the suitability of him serving a second term”.
The US presidential election is on November 5, 2024.