Latest ABC/WaPo Poll Is an Absolute Horror Show for Joe Biden, Leaves George Stephanopoulos Stunned

Bonchie reporting for RedState 

Just when you thought things couldn’t get worse for Joe Biden, he goes careening off a cliff. That’s the story of the latest poll by ABC News and The Washington Post, which is just an absolute horror show for the president.

That’s not hyperbole. We’ve gotten bad polls for the president in the past, but these numbers appear to be the worst of his presidency, and they counter a narrative of resurgence the press has been desperate to push since the beginning of 2023.

Don’t take my word for it, though. Here’s George Stephanopoulos lamenting the results as “brutal.” He and his on-set colleague go on to explain how they “can’t make sense” of what they are seeing.

So just how bad are the numbers? We’ll get to the toplines soon enough, but according to the poll, 63 percent of respondents say Biden does not have the mental sharpness to be president while 62 percent say he is not healthy enough to be president. That comes after Biden flaunted his senility in a series of high-profile trips recently. As I wrote on Friday, this is a man who can’t even appear in public anymore without his mental decline expressing itself in vivid fashion.

That so many Americans are finally catching up to the fact that Biden isn’t capable of fulfilling the duties of his office is heartening. For a while there, it felt like no matter how terribly he looked, sounded, and performed, his numbers remained largely static. Some of that was a result of the press doing everything they could to cover up his condition, but there’s only so much they can do.

Perhaps the White House, which has been trotting Biden out in public a lot more over the last year, simply got too arrogant? They’ve showcased a bit of an invincibility complex, presuming that nothing they do matters, with the president fumbling around on the world stage to the expectation of seal claps. But it does matter, and all of this is cumulative in the minds of the American people.

That brings me to his approval rating, which is a record-low 36 percent in the poll. Further, both Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis beat Biden in a general election matchup by wide margins (both by 6 points).

Where does Biden go from here? What is he going to do in the next year that dramatically changes his prospects? I think the answer remains that the only way he wins is if Republicans allow themselves to become the primary topic of discussion. If this election is a referendum on Joe Biden, he is going to get crushed. If it’s a referendum on “extremist Republicans” or some other nonsense, he can play the basement strategy again and win.

Discipline is going to be key going forward. The press will go gangbusters trying to define the 2024 election as a choice between progress and extremism. Republicans need to counter that messaging with one of competency, policy, and success. People are pining for some semblance of prosperity and normalcy again, specifically regarding cultural issues and their finances. Don’t fall into the traps that will be laid.