CNN chief national correspondent John King on Thursday pointed to data showing President Joe Biden is unlikely to beat former President Donald Trump in November's presidential election.
King pointed to data showing Trump leading in certain precincts in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona and Nebraska, which would put him over the 270 electoral votes needed. The incumbent president is losing ground in traditionally Democratic states of Virginia, New Mexico, New Hampshire and Colorado. (Related article: “Biden is not leading in any election”: MSNBC data expert analyzes Trump's surge in post-debate polls)
“But the president is so weak,” King said. “And you think about why Democrats are so worried: He's the sitting president of the United States.”
King's data shows that Biden's vote share in battleground states like Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania correlates almost exactly with his approval rating among those states' voters: In Arizona, Biden got 36% of the vote and 36% approval, and in Wisconsin, he got 38% of the vote and 39% approval.
'The president is too weak': CNN's John King discusses bad news for Biden as Trump's lead widens pic.twitter.com/HCzy7pQWZF
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“Dana, the president is in a tough spot. When Mr. Trump takes the stage tonight, this is his campaign. He's going to be in control,” King continued.
King compared the current data to the 2016 election, when Trump won battleground states like Michigan and Minnesota. The CNN host said the president's current approval and favorability ratings in those states are causing panic among Democrats.
“If Joe Biden's approval rating is in the high 30s or low 40s, it's not just a Minnesota issue,” King added. “That's why people in Colorado, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Virginia are worried. Can Joe Biden turn things around? Absolutely. But that's why, Dana, there's constant pressure on him to say, 'Mr. President, please step aside. Let's get somebody else.'”
Emerson College vote Trump is leading nationally among registered voters, 46% to 42%, according to a poll released Thursday. The survey, conducted after the assassination attempt on Trump, also found the former president leading in key battleground states, including seven-point leads in North Carolina and Arizona, and five-point leads in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Nevada.
The poll was conducted among 2,000 voters on July 15-16 and has a margin of error of 2.1 percentage points.
Trump also led Biden nationally, 42% to 40% as of Thursday. according to To FiveThirtyEight.
Biden's approval rating plummeted following his June 27 debate debacle, and about 21 lawmakers called for Biden to drop out of the race. On July 2, Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas became the first member of Congress to call for Biden to resign, followed by Rep. Adam Schiff of California, Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, and Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer reportedly made the “case” for Biden to withdraw during a private one-on-one meeting on Saturday.
In a hypothetical matchup against Trump, a group of Democratic alternative candidates received higher support than Biden, including Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Maryland Governor Wes Moore at the top of the list.
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