RNC chairman: Joe Biden is more likable than Hillary Clinton

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus thinks that, should Vice President Joe Biden decide to run for president, he would be a more formidable opponent to Republicans than Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton.
"I think Joe Biden is someone that a lot of people, whether they like his politics or not, they like him," Priebus told the Today show Wednesday. That's important, Priebus said, because "likability is probably the number one issue on the ballot."
An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll out this week showed Clinton's approval rating plummeting to its lowest level since 2008, dropping by eight percentage points from the month before. While Biden was not included in this particular poll, a recent survey by Quinnipiac University revealed that the veep polls "just as well as [Clinton] against the top Republicans."
Subscribe to 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.
Moreover, while Clinton had a 40 percent favorability rating in the poll, Biden beat her by a whopping nine percentage points, with 49 percent favorability among all registered voters — a score higher than any other candidate on the list.
Biden is expected to announce whether or not he will seek the Democratic nomination for president by September.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
America's favorite fast food restaurants
The Explainer There are different ways of thinking about how Americans define how they most like to spend their money on burgers, tacos and fried chicken
-
Law: The battle over birthright citizenship
Feature Trump shifts his focus to nationwide injunctions after federal judges block his attempt to end birthright citizenship
-
The threat to the NIH
Feature The Trump administration plans drastic cuts to medical research. What are the ramifications?
-
Trump pardons Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery
speed read Former sheriff Scott Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal bribery and fraud charges
-
Germany lifts Kyiv missile limits as Trump, Putin spar
speed read Russia's biggest drone and missile attacks of the war prompted Trump to post that Putin 'has gone absolutely CRAZY!'
-
Tied Supreme Court blocks church charter school
speed read The court upheld the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision to bar overtly religious public charter schools
-
GOP megabill would limit judicial oversight of Trump
speed read The domestic policy bill Republicans pushed through the House would protect the Trump administration from the consequences of violating court orders
-
Judge scolds DOJ over Newark mayor arrest
speed read Ras Baraka was arrested during a May 9 surprise visit to a migrant detention facility
-
Trump lectures South Africa president on 'white genocide'
speed read Trump has cut off aid to South Africa over his demonstrably false genocide claims
-
Trump twists House GOP arms on megabill
speed read The bill will provide a $350 billion boost to military and anti-immigration spending and 'cuts to Medicaid, food stamps and green energy programs'
-
Trump DOJ said to pay $5M to family of Jan. 6 rioter
speed read The US will pay a hefty sum to the family of Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt, who was fatally shot on January 6