Joe Biden and Donald Trump are the leading contenders for their parties' presidential nominations, but most Americans don’t want either to run, according to a series of new polls.
An NBC News survey released this week found that Americans oppose another Biden run for the presidency by a margin of 70-26 percent. That includes a majority of Democrats – 51 percent – who say he should not run.
The same survey found that Americans oppose another Trump run for the White House, 60-35 percent. One-third of Republicans don’t want Trump to run.
Biden is 80, Trump 76. The survey was conducted by Republican pollster Bill McInturff and Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt.
“At this stage, 2024 is shaping up to be a sequel of the 2020 election,” Horwitt said. “Sequels are frequently hits at the box office, but apparently not at the ballot box.”
Said McInturff, “It’s clear that people do not want a Biden-Trump rematch.”
A total of 38 percent of Americans have a positive view of Biden, while 34 percent have a positive view of Trump. Biden is viewed negatively by 48 percent of Americans; Trump’s negative ratings are at 53 percent.
The poll mirrored the findings of previous surveys. For example:
- A February Washington Post/ABC News survey found that only 31 percent of Democrats want Biden to be the nominee compared to 44 percent of Republicans who want Trump to be the nominee. A majority (58 percent) of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents prefer someone other than Biden, while 49 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents prefer someone other than Trump, the poll found.
- A March poll by The Economist/YouGov found that 56 percent of Americans don’t want Biden to run, and 54 percent don’t want Trump to run.
Biden’s average approval rating is 42.8 percent, according to RealClearPolitics.com. He is viewed favorably by an average of 40.9 percent of Americans. Trump’s average favorability rating is similar but slightly less: 38.4 percent.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Joe Raedle/Staff, Getty Images/Scott Olson/Staff
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
