In a candid interview over the weekend, CNN anchor Jake Tapper expressed concerns that President Joe Biden might be negatively impacting the overall Democrat ticket, based on recent polling data. During an interview with Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Tapper highlighted alarming trends for the Biden campaign.
Tapper began by referencing former President Donald Trump’s efforts to appeal to African-American voters in battleground Michigan, then shifted focus to the troubling poll numbers for Biden. He pointed out that Biden trails Trump in key battleground states and is significantly behind Democratic Senate candidates in those same states.
“Let’s talk about the campaign, because Trump was in battleground Michigan last night making a pitch to African-American voters,” Tapper said. “Polls show Biden trailing Trump in key battleground states and polling well behind your Senate colleagues who are running for reelection.”
Tapper provided specific examples from a New York Times poll to illustrate his point. “Look at this New York Times poll from last month,” he continued. “Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin is up nine points in Wisconsin. Biden’s only up two points. Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey up five in PA. Biden’s down three. Arizona Congressman Ruben Gallego, running for Senate in Arizona, up four, Biden down seven. Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen up two in Nevada. Biden’s down 12.”
Faced with these numbers, Tapper directly asked Murphy, “How can you look at this, these statistics, these numbers and not conclude that Joe Biden is a drag on the ticket?”
Murphy attempted to downplay the poll results, suggesting that the outcome of the elections would be different and dismissing the data as “one poll.” Despite the credibility of the New York Times/Sienna poll, Murphy insisted that there were many other polls showing Biden in a better position, though he did not specify any of these polls.
“I mean, you’re happy for your colleagues, I’m sure, but Biden is underpolling all of them,” Tapper pressed.
Murphy reiterated his stance, repeating that it was only “one poll” and suggesting that numerous other polls indicated Biden’s lead, though he was unable to name any specific ones.
Even @CNN can’t spin Biden’s polling nightmare:
TAPPER: “How can you look at these numbers and not conclude that Joe Biden is a drag on the ticket?!?” pic.twitter.com/v2zCc0NnrD
— Raj Aryal (@rajaryal07) June 16, 2024
