Most Americans don’t want Trump or Biden to run again, poll finds

With the 2024 presidential election shaping up to be a repeat of the 2020 matchup between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, Americans are less than enhused about the prospect of a rematch.

 

A recent Hart Research poll commissioned by NBC News found significant majorities of Americans would prefer that Mr Trump and Mr Biden both stand down rather than compete for a second term at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

A full 70 per cent of Americans — including a bare 51 per cent majority of self-identified Democrats surveyed — said Mr Biden shouldn’t run for another term, while 60 per cent of respondents, including 33 per cent of Republicans contacted, said Mr Trump should step aside as well.

For the respondents who want Mr Biden to retire rather than seek a second term, 48 per cent said the 46th president’s age is a “major” factor in why they’d prefer he step aside in favour of someone else.

Yet even those Democrats who’d prefer more choices in next year’s presidential primary say they will stand behind Mr Biden in a general election. A full 88 per cent of Democratic respondents said they’d “definitely” or “probably” vote to reelect him if he is the Democratic nominee next year, with 83 per cent saying they currently approve of his job performance. But only 22 per cent of self-identified independents say they’d vote for him, with just three per cent of GOP voters giving the same answer.

At the same time, Mr Biden only commands approval from 41 per cent of the general population, with 54 per cent saying they disapprove.

The lackluster polling for the likely 2024 nominees came ahead of Mr Biden announcing his reelection bid on Tuesday (25 April) in a video posted to social media.

Mr Biden is reportedly prepared to tap White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Director Julie Chavez Rodriguez as the manager of his reelection campaign.

Ms Rodriguez, a granddaughter of labour organiser Cesar Chavez, was deputy campaign manager of the president’s successful 2020 campaign.