Ex-Obama advisor David Axelrod warns that Biden’s approval rating doesn’t bode well for campaign

One of former President Barack Obama’s top political advisers warned Wednesday that President Biden’s record low approval rating is “very, very dark” news for his re-election campaign.

David Axelrod, Obama’s top campaign guru, referenced a recent Wall Street Journal poll on his “Hacks on Tap” podcast that shows only 37% of voters approving of the 81-year-old president’s job in the Oval Office, with 61% holding an unfavorable view of the incumbent. 

The same poll has former President Donald Trump leading Biden by four points in a head-to-head matchup, and by six points with independent candidates in the mix. 

“Job approval down, ratings generally down, most of the comparatives with Trump not good,” Axelrod told his co-hosts, political consultant Mike Murphy and former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs. “What I worry about, you guys, from a Biden standpoint, is these are the kinds of things you get when people are starting to rationalize their votes.”

“And they just put out another photo op with the ‘Bidenomics’ sign next to him … it’s just unbelievable to me,” he added, referencing the White House’s insistence on promoting Biden’s economic agenda despite poll after poll showing Americans are dissatisfied with the president’s handling of the economy. 

Two-thirds of voters said they believed the economy was poor or not good and that it had gotten worse in the last two years, according to the Wall Street Journal poll released Saturday.

On major issues including the economy, crime, inflation, border security, and Israel-Hamas, voters said they trusted Trump more than Biden.

The president received higher marks on abortion and “tone in politics.”

Axelrod noted that Biden isn’t doing “quite that bad” in private polling that he’s seen, “but it’s bad.”

Gibbs argued the Biden campaign needs to start “playing campaign in a far more concerted way” if it wants to start making up ground against Trump. 

Similarly, Axelrod said he believes the Biden campaign is “way behind.”

Last month, the former Obama adviser pegged Biden’s chances of winning the 2024 presidential election at “no better” than 50-50. 

“I think he has a 50-50 shot here, but no better than that, maybe a little worse,” Axelrod told New York Times Columnist Maureen Dowd.