President Biden angrily rejected the idea that a majority of his own party's voters don't want him to be the 2024 Democratic nominee during an exchange with a reporter outside the White House on Tuesday.
"Mr. President, what's your message to Democrats who don't want you to run again?" the reporter asked.
"They want me to run," Biden answered.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Two-thirds say they don't," the reporter shot back.
"Read the polls! Read the polls, Jack!" the president responded. "You guys are all the same. That poll showed that 92 percent of Democrats, if I ran, would vote for me."
Who's right? It depends on how you look at it.
A New York Times/Siena College poll released Monday did find that 64 percent of likely 2024 Democratic primary voters believed "the party should nominate a different candidate for President." The number the reporter cited — two-thirds — is within the margin of error. So far, so good.
Biden's claim, on the other hand, needs quite a bit of qualification. Poll respondents were specifically asked who they would vote for if "the 2024 presidential election were held today" and if the candidates were Biden and former President Donald Trump. Under those circumstances, 92 percent of Democrats said they would vote for Biden. But voting for Biden to keep Trump out of office is not the same thing as wanting him to run.
The poll surveyed 849 registered voters between July 5 and July 7 with an error margin of 4.1 percent.
-
Eel-egal trade: the world’s most lucrative wildlife crime?Under the Radar Trafficking of juvenile ‘glass’ eels from Europe to Asia generates up to €3bn a year but the species is on the brink of extinction
-
Political cartoons for November 2Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include the 22nd amendment, homeless camps, and more
-
The dazzling coral gardens of Raja AmpatThe Week Recommends Region of Indonesia is home to perhaps the planet’s most photogenic archipelago.
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
