Biden leads Trump in hypothetical rematch: poll

WASHINGTON: President Biden would defeat former President Trump if the 2024 presidential election were held today, according to a Wall Street Journal poll released Thursday.

Biden holds a 6-point lead over Trump in a hypothetical rematch, with 50 percent of registered voters saying they would probably or definitely vote for Biden and 44 percent saying the same of Trump.

This is up from March, when Biden and Trump were tied in the hypothetical rematch, with each receiving 45 percent support.

Biden and the White House have said he intends to run for reelection in 2024. Trump has not made an official announcement but has repeatedly teased another run.

Biden has seen a bump in popularity after a series of political successes last month, including the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and the announcement of some federal student loan debt forgiveness.

In the Aug. 17-25 Wall Street Journal poll, which interviewed 1,313 registered voters nationwide, 45 percent said they approved of Biden’s performance as president, a 3-point bump from March.

A new Quinnipiac University poll similarly showed a 9-point spike in Biden’s approval rating, jumping from 31 percent in July to 40 percent in August.

Despite the bump in job approval ratings, a majority of Democrats in Massachusetts said they think Biden should not seek a second term, according to another new poll. 

Trump saw a slight loss in popularity after a tumultuous month following the FBI raid of his Mar-a-Lago home. In the Wall Street Journal poll, 58 percent said they view the former president unfavorably, a 3-point increase from March.