WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden traveled to Philadelphia on Labor Day to bring middle-class voters to justice with a speech praising his economic record and boosting unions — just as a new poll showed his re-election in 2024 is in jeopardy precisely because of the economic concerns of the voters.
The Wall Street Journal poll, conducted August 24-30, found that 59% of voters disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy. Nearly three in four voters say inflation is “going in the wrong direction,” the paper reported.
At age 80, voters overwhelmingly think President Biden is too old to run for re-election, and only 39% of voters had a positive view of the president.
Perhaps most concerning for Biden is that WSJ’s poll found that Biden is statistically tied with former President Trump in the event of a possible 2024 rematch. The findings come even as Trump remains the Republican party’s frontrunner, despite that he is being tried in various federal and state cases.
What did Biden say in his speech?
In his speech to the Sheet Metal Workers Local 19 in Philadelphia, Biden improved Trump’s economic record while boasting about his administration’s record.
“When the last man was here, you shipped jobs to China. Now we are bringing jobs home from China,” Biden said. “When the last man was here… your pensions were on the line. With your help, we have been able to save millions of pensions.”
Biden also tried to set himself up as a pro-union and grassroots president who interacts with middle-class workers, noting that “when the last man was here, he was watching the world from Park Avenue. I’m watching it from Scranton, Pennsylvania. I’m watching from Claymont, Delaware.”
Later in his speech, he noted that “Wall Street has not built America. The middle class built America and the union built the middle class.”
Just three days earlier, Biden had expressed support for unionized workers in a speech, noting that his administration had raised workers’ wages and helped more workers into well-paying unionized jobs.
“Even non-union workers, even workers who have been laid off, see the benefits of unions when they are strong because unions raise standards within the workforce and industries, raising wages and increasing benefits for all. be strengthened,” he said.
Opportunities for Biden and Trump for 2024, polls show
Despite both being frontrunners in the party, both Biden and Trump are at odds with voters.
For Biden, age is one of his biggest challenges. The Wall Street Journal poll found that about 73% of voters think Biden is too old to run for president, while only 47% think Trump is too old. Thirty-six percent of voters think Biden is mentally fit for the job, while 46% of voters think Trump is mentally capable of running for president.
Even if Biden’s age hasn’t affected his ability to do the job, some members of the public “may believe he’s not mentally sharp enough or that he doesn’t have the necessary physical stamina,” says Barry Burden, professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin. -Madison, previously told USA TODAY.
These concerns stem from reports of Biden’s fall, which sometimes confuse countries, dates, and other blunders.
For Trump, his character is a risk. About 38% of voters think Trump is honest, while 45% of voters think Biden is. Forty-eight percent of voters think Biden is a likeable person, while 31% of voters think Trump is.
But Trump is still favorable to voters in terms of his policies. About 51% of voters think Trump has a strong record as president, while only 40% of voters think Biden has.
“If this race is about personality and temperament, then Biden has an advantage. If this race is about policy and performance, then Trump has the advantage,” Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio told the Wall Street Journal.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden Tries Middle Class Voters; His bid for 2024 is in jeopardy, according to a new poll
