Democratic pollster and NBC News contributor Cornell Belcher stunned fellow network contributor Danielle Pletka Sunday when he admitted that former President Donald Trump could defeat President Joe Biden in 2024.
Sometimes the truth comes from the most unexpected places.
Pletka is a Senior Fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. They were participating in a panel discussion over recent polls that show the Democratic incumbent tied with virtually every potential Republican nominee.
NEW CNN POLL:
"Donald Trump, 47%, Joe Biden, 46%…There was not a single poll conducted by CNN during the entire 2020 cycle in which Donald Trump got a higher share of the vote than Joe Biden did, so this is a vastly different picture from what we saw four years ago…" pic.twitter.com/9Y6g7vhlb9
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) September 7, 2023
Belcher argued that Trump could win “by subtraction.” Some voters, as in 2016, will cast “protest” ballots which could land the Republican at 51% of the electorate.
A clearly rattled Pletka asked, “Did I just hear you say you think Donald Trump could win the 2024 presidential election against Joe Biden.” Belcher responded, “If 2016 happens again.”
He pointed to Wisconsin, where some former Obama voters went with a third-party candidate. This resulted in Trump pulling out a slim majority in the state.
Pletka noted that Biden is no longer able to hide in his basement. With a dead heat in nearly every poll, he faces with absolute certainty the need to go before the voters and present his case.
She noted that some voters in both major parties are dissatisfied, but the fact remains that they will ultimately choose one of the two leading candidates.
Then there’s the news from CNN’s latest polling data showing Trump has pulled out in front of Biden 47% to 46%. The survey, conducted by SSRS for CNN, showed that the incumbent continues to be dragged down with concerns over his age and a lack of confidence in his leadership.
Only 39% of U.S. voters approve of Biden’s job performance with a dismal 58% believing his policies have negatively affected the economy. That’s up 8 points from last fall.
A full 70% describe the overall condition of the nation as going badly.
Personal perceptions of the president are also abysmally low. Only 35% of Americans say they are proud to have him as their president, while just 45% believe he cares about people like them.
As for inspiring confidence, that tally is down 7 percentage points in March to only 28%. Even fewer Americans, 26%, believe he has the stamina and mental acuity to be president.
