If former president Donald Trump and current POTUS Joe Biden were to be granted a hypothetical re-run of last year’s election, the Republican politician would beat his Democratic opponent, claims a new poll.
A survey by Emerson College released on Friday shows that 47 percent of voters would favour Trump as opposed to 46 percent who said that they would back Biden. Some 6 percent of those surveyed would opt for another candidate.
The national poll of 1,200 registered voters, conducted between 30 August and 1 September, goes on to reveal that 39 percent of Democrats would prefer some other party candidate to run in 2024.
The GOP are still rallying around Trump, the Emerson survey says, as 67 percent of the Republicans would support his GOP nomination again.
“This data suggests that Republicans want either Trump or a Trumpian candidate to be their nominee, or half of them may split from the party,” said Spencer Kimball, Director of Emerson College Polling, in a statement.
Joe Biden’s ratings, meanwhile, have been plummeting. The president is under fire for the hasty withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan that opened the way for the Taliban* to retake power with precious little resistance in the south Asian country.
UK military personnel board an A400M aircraft departing Kabul, Afghanistan August 28, 2021
© REUTERS / UK MOD Crown copyright 2021
The polling average from RealClearPolitics finds Biden’s job approval has tanked by more than 4 percent, in his worst rating yet. More than 49 percent of those polled now disapprove of Biden’s performance in office, whereas only 45 percent are in favour.
As for Trump, he has not definitively indicated he will run in 2024, but has dropped numerous hints, sparking speculation.
Jason Miller, a former senior adviser to Trump, said on Cheddar News on Thursday that it's "pretty clear" the former POTUS will run again in 2024, estimating the chances being somewhere between "99 and 100 percent".
“I had a good conversation with him last night, and I'm gonna go see him in another couple days here… He has not said the magical words to me, but if you talk to him for a few minutes, it's pretty clear that he's running," Miller added.
* A terrorist organisation banned in Russia and other countries.