President Joe Biden is underwater on three of the top issues voters most care about: inflation, immigration, and jobs, a Harvard/Harris poll reveals.
Out of 29 issues polled, 32 percent of voters said inflation was the top issue, followed by immigration (27 percent), and the economy and jobs (24 percent).
The top three issues proceeded guns (18 percent), crime/drugs (17 percent), terrorism (16 percent), national debt (15 percent, and health care (15 percent). The changing of climate ranked ninth (15 percent), while the Israeli/Hamas conflict ranked tenth (10 percent).
Biden’s approval rating is underwater on the top three issues. On how the president handled inflation, he only received 40 percent approval, his highest mark in the category in over a year.
On the topic of the invasion of the southern border, only 39 percent approved of Biden’s effort to stem the tide, a couple of points down since the spring. On stimulating jobs, he received one of his highest marks (49 percent) but still underwater.
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Overall, 53 percent of voters disapproved of the octogenarian, while 44 percent approved. Among those who disapproved, 39 percent strongly disapproved. Fourteen percent somewhat disapproved.
The poll sampled 2,116 voters from October 18-19 with a 2 point margin of error.
The poll comes after a focus group survey showed that swing voters’ first word or phrase used to describe Joe Biden is “some combination of ‘old, slowing down’ or, if they were harsher, ‘dementia or feeble,’” a pollster told Politico. The pollster reportedly pushed respondents to receive positive impressions of Joe Biden, and many could not remember any alleged accomplishments.
According to his annual physical conducted in February by physician Kevin O’Connor, Joe BIden suffers from atrial fibrillation, peripheral neuropathy in feet, and hyperlipidemia. Democrats close to the president say Joe Biden refuses to wear hearing aids, Politico reported.
Some Republicans believe focusing on Biden’s mental or physical capacity is not a winning strategy to defeat him in 2024. They say Republicans should focus on his failed economic, domestic, and foreign policies.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.