Majority of Democrats say Biden shouldn't be reelected: Poll

Cami Mondeaux

April 07, 07:38 AM April 07, 07:38 AM

Only one-third of voters say President Joe Biden deserves a second term in the White House, with a majority of his own party saying they would like to see someone else as the nominee in 2024, according to a new poll.

Roughly 32% of voters say Biden “deserves” to be reelected, which is down from the 37% who said the same in December, according to a recent CNN poll. The shift in opinion was most prevalent among young voters, with only 26% of those under 35 saying Biden should be reelected compared to 36% who said the same in December.

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The poll also found a decrease in Biden’s favorability ratings, with only 42% approving of the president’s job performance and 57% disapproving. That’s a drop from the 45% who approved of his performance in January and 55% who disapproved.

Biden’s growing unfavorability was evident across a number of personal attributes, with a majority of voters (67%) saying the president does not have the stamina or sharpness to serve effectively, according to the poll. Another 65% said Biden does not inspire confidence, 54% said he was not honest or trustworthy, and 51% said he cannot work effectively with Congress.

Although a majority of Democrats (54%) say someone else should be chosen as the party’s nominee in 2024, the numbers are an improvement from the number of voters who said the same in December when 59% said they’d prefer another candidate. Last summer, that number stood at a staggering 75%.

For those who’d like to see another candidate on the ticket, few could name specific replacements. Roughly 70% said they’d “generally” like to see someone other than Biden, with others floating names such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) or Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, among others.

The poll surveyed 1,595 voters from March 1 to 31, with the majority of responses being gathered before former President Donald Trump’s indictment that was announced last week. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.

DeSantis hit with second ethics complaint before prospective presidential bid takes off

Cami Mondeaux

March 28, 08:09 AM March 28, 08:25 AM

The head of the Florida Democratic Party filed a complaint against Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), marking a second possible ethics violation before the Republican governor has even launched a White House bid.

Nikki Fried, chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party, filed an ethics complaint against DeSantis on Monday, alleging the governor’s political committee of receiving improper gifts and spending money that is unrelated to the group’s formal business. The complaint comes after the Friends of Ron DeSantis PAC held a retreat at a Palm Beach resort earlier this year as a way for DeSantis to meet with donors and GOP elected officials.

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“I just filed a state ethics complaint against Gov. DeSantis for accepting prohibited gifts from his political committee,” Fried tweeted. “And to the rest of the [Republicans], you may want to check all of your financial filings and campaign reports, as you all are next.”

The complaint centers on a $235,000 payment made by Friends of Ron DeSantis to the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach in February at an event to celebrate the “Florida blueprint.” State law prohibits candidates from receiving gifts from political committees, including loans, donations, or “anything of value that is not primarily related to contributions.”

Fried denounced the retreat as a way for DeSantis to huddle with top Republican leaders "to increase his national profile in advance of an anticipated run for the Republican nomination as President.”

The Democratic chairwoman cited a handful of other improper payments in her complaint, including a $142,388 payment toward the Four Seasons Hotel in Miami and $11,895 to Dirty French Steakhouse. If found in violation, DeSantis could be subject to a penalty “equal to three times the amount of the gifts,” according to state law.

A spokesperson for the governor rejected the accusations, maintaining the events were not held improperly.

“Just like the [ethics complaint] from two weeks ago, we’ll just add this to the list of frivolous & politically motivated attacks,” Taryn Fenske said, referring to an initial ethics complaint filed against DeSantis earlier this month. “Louder for the Dems in the back: It’s inappropriate to use ethics complaints for partisan purposes.”

DeSantis was hit with a similar ethics complaint by a super PAC backing former President Donald Trump for the nomination. That complaint requested the state GOP to investigate whether DeSantis is using his elected office as leverage to elevate his national profile ahead of a presidential run.

DeSantis has not yet announced a White House run, but the Florida governor is widely expected to do so in the coming weeks. Should he choose to run, the Florida governor is set to be a competitive candidate and top challenger to Trump’s reelection bid.

Biden under fire from Democrats for moderating approach ahead of 2024 contest

Cami Mondeaux

March 17, 08:11 AM March 17, 08:12 AM

As President Joe Biden prepares to launch his reelection bid for 2024, he has begun using some familiar tactics from old playbooks: inching toward the middle to win over centrists and some Republicans he’ll need to secure the White House for another term.

Over the last few weeks, Biden has made a series of moves siding with conservatives on key matters such as crime, immigration, and oil. Although the White House has insisted those decisions are not part of a larger reelection strategy, the recent shift is not sitting well with many of his party's more liberal members.

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“I think the devil is in the details, and we will see what happens,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) told Politico. “But has he made decisions that progressives disagree with? Absolutely. We will see what comes up in the next year.”

Biden first broke with Democrats earlier this month when he announced he would sign a GOP-led bill seeking to strike down the newly rewritten criminal code in Washington, D.C., which reduces the penalties for some crimes. The White House initially expressed opposition to the bill before Biden reversed course and said he would not veto the measure.

Several House Democrats were furious with Biden over the decision, accusing the president of flip-flopping on previous pledges to defend the district’s self-governance.

“This ain’t it. DC has a right to govern itself, like any other state or municipality. If the President supports DC statehood, he should govern like it,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) tweeted. “Plenty of places pass laws the President may disagree with. He should respect the people’s gov of DC just as he does elsewhere.”

Biden once again broke with his party after announcing earlier this week he would approve an $8 billion Willow Project in Alaska that plans to extract 600 million barrels of oil from federal lands. The plan breaks from pledges Biden made on the campaign trail in 2020 to halt drilling on federal lands, prompting widespread criticism from members of his party.

“Youth voter turnout was at its highest in 2020 & young folks supported him because of commitments such as ‘no more drilling on federal land,’” Rep. Maxwell Frost (R-FL), the first Gen-Z member of Congress, tweeted this week. “That commitment has been broken.”

Democrats have also grown concerned that Biden is eyeing a move to the right on key topics such as immigration, particularly after it was reported the president is considering a revival of a Trump-era immigration policy that detains migrant families who attempt to cross the border illegally. Biden lifted the detention policy shortly after taking office in 2021, but now, officials are looking at ways to reinstate some of its provisions — stoking anger from Democrats who say Biden has been mum on his plans.

“The lack of communication on immigration-related policy decisions is an insult," Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who is heavily involved with immigration reform in Congress, told Axios. "It would be like making civil rights legislative ideas and thoughts without checking with the Congressional Black Caucus.”

The White House has maintained that Biden’s recent decisions are not campaign-related strategies but coincidental timing. Aides pointed to previous instances in which Biden broke with liberals on key matters during the 2020 campaign, arguing his actions are par for the course.

Biden has not announced his reelection campaign, but the president is likely to make a decision in the coming weeks.

Jeb Bush throws support behind Ron DeSantis challenge to Trump

Brady Knox

February 27, 06:20 PM February 27, 06:20 PM

Former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) heaped praise on Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), backing him as a model candidate for the White House.

In a WHD News special, Bush said DeSantis should run for higher office, arguing that it was time for a "generational change" in politics.

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“Who better to do it than someone who’s been outside of Washington, who’s governed effectively, who I think has shown that Florida can be a model for the future of our country,” Bush said when asked if DeSantis should run for president.

“He’s been a really effective governor. He’s young. I think we’re on the verge of a generational change in our politics — kind of hope so. I think it’s time for a more forward-leaning, future-oriented conversation, our politics, as well,” he added.

Bush compared DeSantis favorably to his father, former President George H.W. Bush, relating how they had both played baseball. He also gave him an "A" ranking for how he performed during crises.

DeSantis received support from Bush, who has a well-known dislike of former President Donald Trump, who quashed Bush's presidential aspirations in 2016 and heavily disparaged his brother, former President George W. Bush. Trump announced his candidacy in November.

DeSantis hasn't announced his candidacy but is expected to do so over the summer.