On Sunday morning’s Meet the Press, Chuck Todd explained the findings of a recent NBC News poll on voter satisfaction regarding the current state of the country and President Biden’s current job rating and perceived competency. These numbers did not look good for Biden, especially the percentage of voters with concerns that Biden did “not have the necessary mental and physical health to be president.” He didn’t dwell on that fact long before looking to former President Trump.
Todd opened the segment with a statistic on voters’ perception of whether or not “this country’s headed in the right direction.” According to the poll, 74 percent of people believed that “the nation is on the wrong track,” while a mere 20 percent thought it was going in the right direction.
It is important to note that the percentage of people who said they thought the country was going in the wrong direction probably included both the demographic who believed it was not going far enough to the right, and also those who wanted it to be farther left. To truly be able to get an accurate read on the situation, it would be necessary to go back and distinguish these two groups, to be able to see which side this approval is weighted towards.
Todd was then quick to give this ominous warning:
Let me tell you something about this moment: We have had this sustained period of 70 percent about a year now. The last two periods in the history of this poll that we've had this kind of sustained negativity about the direction of the country was before the '92 election and before the 2008 election. Both of those changed the party controlling the White House.
Essentially, he seemed to be saying that, since these approval ratings were at levels where, historically, the presidency was overturned from one side to the other because of voters who were tired of the presidency failing to fulfill its promises, the Democrats should be warned that this was what would happen in the 2024 presidential election.
Voters in America, voting to elect someone else from the opposite party for president because they’re unhappy with the current administration? The horror!
The next statistic that Todd brought up was Biden’s approval rating, at 43 percent approval and 53 percent disapproval, which he attributed to the Afghanistan withdrawal.
Another interesting statistic that Todd brought up was the question of whether or not voters thought he was mentally and physically fit to be president. Here were the findings:
A full 68 percent of voters, including 43 percent of Democrats now–which is twice what it was in 2020–say they are concerned that Biden does not have the necessary mental and physical health to be president.
Todd then rushed to announce that, when asked the same question about Trump, “a majority also have concerns,” although he admitted that Trump’s 55 percent negative polling was “a full 13 points lower than the concerns over President Biden.”
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Transcript of the segment below (click Expand):
NBC’s Meet the Press
6/25/23
10:48:31 AM ET
CHUCK TODD: Welcome back. We have a brand new NBC News poll that we are releasing this morning, and in it voters are deeply dissatisfied with the direction of the country. They're concerned about the mental and physical wellbeing of President Biden.
But the story of the last four years is still true today. And in this poll, the best thing for a Biden reelection campaign continues to be the presence of Donald Trump.
Just 20 percent of voters believe this country's headed in the right direction. 74 percent say the nation is on the wrong track.
Let me tell you something about this moment: We have had this sustained period of 70 percent about a year now. The last two periods in the history of this poll that we've had this kind of sustained negativity about the direction of the country was before the '92 election and before the 2008 election. Both of those changed the party controlling the White House.
Now, let's get into more of the poll. Biden's job rating sits at just 43 percent, about where it's been since their withdrawal from Afghanistan. 53 percent disapprove.
A full 68 percent of voters, including 43 percent of Democrats now–which is twice what it was in 2020–say they are concerned that Biden does not have the necessary mental and physical health to be president.
For what it's worth, when we asked the same question about Donald Trump, who's just a couple of years younger than Joe Biden, a majority also have concerns. But it is 55 percent, a full 13 points lower than the concerns over President Biden.
But in 2020, Biden won mo b—more because of who he wasn't, than of who he was. And in a head-to-head match-up, Biden leads Trump by the same four points that he defeated him by in 2020, 49/45. In a match-up against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, could see here, it's 47/47.
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