Why is Biden struggling with favorability against Trump?
- Trump leads Biden by four points in a new poll
- Biden's favorability has dropped since his last contest against Trump
- Biden is expected to address the border crisis during the State of the Union
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(NewsNation) — A rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump is all but certain, but according to recent polls, Biden’s approval numbers are down while Trump’s have remained mostly the same since 2020 when they were last in competition.
A new New York Times/Siena College poll put Biden at 43% and Trump at 48%.
Trump’s favorability in Oct. 2020 was around 43% and in Feb. 2024 was at 44%. These numbers will be a concern for Democrats as Biden’s favorability dropped from 52% in Oct. 2020 to 38% in Feb. 2024, according to the same poll.
The favorability numbers don’t necessarily indicate votes, but rather general impressions of each of the candidates.
Impressions of Trump and Biden translated into votes in 2020 with 88% of those who voted for Trump holding a favorable opinion of him, while only 70% of Biden voters found him favorable.
Now, Biden is facing a significant task with the upcoming State of the Union address, where he is expected to use part of the primetime slot to discuss the border crisis.
Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., said on “The Hill Sunday” with Chris Stirewalt that the “chaos” surrounding the border needs to be addressed.
“A country needs borders. It is also true that we need more immigration in this country,” Hines said.
He added, “Will the extremes yell and shout? Of course they will. That’s always what happens. What they can’t be allowed to do, which is sadly the hallmark of this Congress, is to prevent progress.”