MSNBC sounded the alarm over new polls showing Republicans holding significant leads with voters on the economy and immigration, calling the numbers “big warning signs” for the Democratic Party heading into 2024.
“Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough expressed amazement at the “unbelievable” polls, remarking Republicans were “absolutely bashing” Democrats when it comes to these issues with voters.
“In fact, Gallup had a poll a few days ago, where they reported the largest gap between Republicans and Democrats since they started taking these polls,” he added.
MSNBC analyst and “Way Too Early” host Jonathan Lemire said these polls should be “big warning signs” for the Democratic Party.
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He pointed to a Marquette University poll out this week which found Donald Trump had a 23-24 point lead with voters on handling inflation, the economy, and the border. Trump also held a 19 point lead over President Biden in voters’ confidence in the candidate creating jobs.
These are “huge, huge numbers,” Lemire admitted. While Democrats held clear leads on climate change and abortion, elections are often decided on the economy, he argued. “These are big warning signs here,” he said.
Even swing state voters who heavily disliked the former president, “really disapprove” of how the Biden administration has handled the economy, Lemire added. However, the White House believes that narrative will change in the coming year, he said.
Scarborough was skeptical that White House messaging about “Bidenomics” could turn around the majority of voters’ sour perception of the economy.
“It’s not working. You can’t convince people the economy’s going great when they don’t feel like the economy’s going great, even though our economy is going a hell of a lot better than any other country’s,” he declared.
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Lemire agreed the White House branding “hasn’t worked” with voters.
Numbers aside, “voters are probably going to cast their ballots based on perception,” he predicted.
Biden’s decision to start building a new border wall, also reveals Democrats are tuning in to voters’ concerns, he argued.
“It is a nod, that that’s a vulnerability too,” Lemire said. “Even with Trump, this is going to be very, very close, and they are warning signs for the White House.”
The Gallup poll, also released this week, found 53% of Americans trusted Republicans to do a better job at keeping the country prosperous, while 39% of Americans chose the Democratic Party. The gap widened even further when Americans were asked who they trusted to protect the country from international terrorism and military threats. 57% chose Republicans while 35% favored Democrats.
A Fox News national survey in August found that twice as many voters felt the Biden administration had made the economy worse.
