Is Biden in denial about his bad polls?
Voters haven't started paying attention to the presidential race, he says


The polling for President Joe Biden's re-election campaign doesn't look so good for him: The numbers show him trailing Donald Trump in key battleground states. But somehow this isn't setting off alarms inside his campaign. Why? "President Biden doesn't believe his bad poll numbers, and neither do many of his closest advisers," Axios said. Biden instead is telling donors, advisers and the press that he's doing better than those numbers suggest. "While the press doesn't write about it, the momentum is clearly in our favor," he said.
Some of Biden's fellow Democrats worry he's in denial about his weaknesses with voters, The Hill said. "Let's cut through the BS, on the three top issues — inflation, immigration and the war in Gaza — he's in the toilet," one strategist said. But the president's team is brushing off the naysayers, said The New York Times. "The reality is that many voters are not paying close attention to the election," said a Biden campaign pollster, "and have not started making up their minds." There is, after all, roughly half a year to go before Election Day.
What did the commentators say?
"Polls are only snapshots — and are often blurry," Eric Lutz said at Vanity Fair. Still, there is concern that Biden's accomplishments aren't being reflected in the polls. Then again, the polls themselves are confusing. Most respondents want a candidate who will "bring politics in Washington back to normal" but also want the country's institutions to be "torn down entirely." Which might be why Biden is skeptical of the results. "Biden subscribes to a more optimistic view — that the public is too decent and normal to elect Trump again."
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.
"Biden doesn't seem to recognize he's in big trouble," Karl Rove said at The Wall Street Journal. But Democrats outside his circle are "more clear-eyed." James Carville, for example, has complained that Biden's team is filled with Ivy Leaguers who aren't in touch with "the world people are living in." The president does have a financial advantage over Trump that could boost him in some of the closer battleground states. But it's time to face a dark truth about swing voters: "The president is running out of time to convince these voters that Donald Trump is worse than he is."
What next?
There is a "sliver of hope" for Biden in recent polls, Vox said. While he's doing terribly in the Sun Belt states of Arizona, Georgia and Nevada, the president is within striking distance of Trump in Great Lakes swing states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Win those three states — plus all the usual Democratic strongholds — and Biden "could reach the 270 Electoral College votes he needs for a second term in the White House."
The truth is "we don't know" how the campaign will turn out, Mark Murray said at NBC News. Polls can tell us what issues are on voters' minds, or give an indication about turnout. The future isn't set in stone. "Whether that idea is maddening or liberating, all we know is that the race remains close."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.
-
Why ‘anti-Islam’ bikers are guarding Gaza aid sites
In The Spotlight Members of Infidels MC, who regard themselves as modern Crusaders, among private security guards at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites
-
China: Xi seeks to fill America’s void
Feature Trump’s tariffs are pushing nations eastward as Xi Jinping focuses on strengthening ties with global leaders
-
Rebrands: Bringing back the War Department
Feature Trump revives the Department of Defense’s former name
-
Supreme Court: Will it allow Trump’s tariffs?
Feature Justices fast-track Trump’s appeal to see if his sweeping tariffs are unconstitutional
-
Venezuela: Was Trump’s air strike legal?
Feature A Trump-ordered airstrike targeted a speedboat off the coast of Venezuela, killing all 11 passengers on board
-
3 killed in Trump’s second Venezuelan boat strike
Speed Read Legal experts said Trump had no authority to order extrajudicial executions of noncombatants
-
Is Kash Patel’s fate sealed after Kirk shooting missteps?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The FBI’s bungled response in the immediate aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting has director Kash Patel in the hot seat
-
‘We must empower young athletes with the knowledge to stay safe’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Russian drone tests Romania as Trump spins
Speed Read Trump is ‘resisting congressional plans to impose newer and tougher penalties on Russia’s energy sector’
-
Trump renews push to fire Cook before Fed meeting
Speed Read The push to remove Cook has ‘quickly become the defining battle in Trump’s effort to take control of the Fed’
-
Will Donald Trump’s second state visit be a diplomatic disaster?
Today's Big Question Charlie Kirk shooting, Saturday’s far-right rally and continued Jeffrey Epstein fallout ramps-up risks of already fraught trip