CNN pollster Harry Enten said Tuesday that while President Biden welcomed polls when he was ahead in the 2020 election, he has fallen behind former President Trump in some key states. He suggested that he was currently ignoring the investigation.
“He loved it four years ago when the polls showed him ahead,” Enten told CNN anchor Erin Burnett on Tuesday. “These are the same polls now. But here’s the thing: While the polls may be right right now, keep in mind there’s still six months until the election. That may change.”
Enten was responding to Biden’s comments on CNN last week that “all the polling data was wrong.”
“How many people do polls on CNN? How many people do you have to call to get one response?” Biden asked Burnett last week.
Polls just released this week are a further wake-up call for the incumbent, who is struggling to catch up to President Trump’s lead in several battleground states.
New York Times/Siena College/Philadelphia Inquirer poll; Released earlier this weekIt turns out that Trump is leading in five of the six battleground states, with Wisconsin being the only state where the incumbent has a lead. Polls show the president is also losing support among young voters and black and Hispanic voters, all important demographics for his voting coalition.
According to the poll, Trump leads Biden by 3 points in Pennsylvania, 5 points in Michigan, 7 points in Arizona, 10 points in Georgia and 12 points in Nevada. Biden led Trump by 2 points in Wisconsin.
Enten on Monday called the numbers in Nevada and Arizona “an absolute disaster.” He added that this number is from Michigan. Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are less of a concern for Biden, suggesting clearing the Great Lakes states and the traditional “blue wall” is the president’s most likely path to reelection. .
The pollster, who spoke with Barnett on Tuesday, noted that polls taken months before a presidential election often differ from November’s election results.
“The average swing state poll on Election Day has declined by six points since 1972,” he said. “In 2020, they were up by five points. So if you’re talking about a one or two point lead in these battleground states, the polls could be showing one thing, and then , one more person could definitely win.”
Biden won all six battleground states in 2020, but his wins in Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsin were particularly close.
Biden allies told The Hill this week that his re-election campaign needs to do more to secure victory in November.
“Biden is at a disadvantage because polls are typically six months away,” said Jim Kessler, co-founder of the left-leaning think tank Third Way. “For them to win, they need to be in a better place with respect to borders, crime and inflation. They have a story to tell about each further action they can take, but they need to be robust.”
Hill has reached out to the Biden campaign for further comment.
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