Biden Vs. Trump: New Poll Finds Voters Generally Dissatisfied, But One Has Decisive Edge Over The Other On This Metric

With just a month to go before the Republican primary in Iowa, former president Donald Trump and incumbent Joe Biden appear to be headed for a near-certain rematch. Still, a new poll has found resentment continues to brew against both the candidates.

What Happened: A majority of the public is either somewhat dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with both Biden and Trump, according to results of a poll by the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

The results were based on a poll of 1,074 adults conducted between Nov. 30 and Dec. 4, 2023, using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, the report said.

Fifty-eight percent of the respondents said they would be dissatisfied if Trump clinches the Republican nomination. Biden’s fate was not much better, as 56% expressed dissatisfaction over his candidacy.

In regards to favorability, Biden topped the list with 42% of support, the highest of any candidate. Robert F Kennedy Jr., who is contesting as an independent, and Trump came next, with 38% and 36% of respondents having a favorable opinion of them respectively.

About 28% of respondents had a favorable opinion of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis; another 28% had a favorable opinion of former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.

Biden’s favorability rating among Democrats was 78% compared to Trump’s 70% favorability rating among the Republicans.

Voters appeared to have less confidence in either party’s selection process for its nominee. Fifty-two percent said they have a little or no confidence that the GOP selection process is fair, while 47% said the same about the Democratic selection process.

Few have confidence that either party's process for selecting their nominee for president is fair.  Fifty-two percent have only a little or no confidence that the Republican nominee selection process is fair. Forty-seven percent say the same about the Democratic selection process. 

The poll also found that voters are not very confident that either party's primaries or caucuses will be counted accurately. 

FiveThirtyEight’s data, which was compiled based on multiple polls, showed that Trump has a commanding lead with 62% of support in the GOP primary poll, with DeSantis a distant second at 12.3% support. Biden, meanwhile, has the support of 65.6% Democratic voters.

Why It’s Important: The disgruntlement over Trump could be due in part to his 91 indictments across four criminal cases, the Associated Press said.

“I find it sad for our country that that's our best choices,” said Missouri-based voter Randy Johnson, according to the outlet.

Johnson lamented over the absence of a third legitimate candidate for president.

“We're down to the lesser of two evils,” he said.

Biden, meanwhile, has been confronting criticism over his age. His economic policy, otherwise known as Bidenomics, and his foreign policy, especially in regards to his handling of the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas conflict, have also come under fire.

Still, the economy has been chugging along nicely despite the string of interest rate hikes the central bank announced to combat inflation.

The stock market, which went through a lean phase in 2022 amid the rate hikes, has recovered in 2023, with the Dow Industrials hitting a record high.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY, an exchange-traded fund that tracks the performance of the broader S&P 500 Index, has gained about 25% this year. The ETF ended Friday’s session down 0.16% at $469.33, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Photo: Shutterstock