Americans don’t want 2024 rematch between Biden and Trump: poll

Americans are taking a been-there, done-that approach to the 2024 presidential election. 

Among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, 58% prefer somebody other than President Biden be their standard-bearer in two years, and 49% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say the same about former President Donald Trump, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released Sunday. 

While 44% of Republicans support Trump being their nominee, only 31% of Democrats back Biden running for re-election. 

The poll also found that 62% of Americans would be “dissatisfied” or “angry” if Biden won, and 56% would feel the same if Trump was victorious. 

Trump announced in November that he is running for president a third time, but faces a number of potential primary challengers. 

Biden has said he intends to seek reelection but has not formally announced a 2024 campaign. 

Just over a third of Americans (36%) say they would be “enthusiastic” or “satisfied but not enthusiastic” if Biden won, while 43% say the same about Trump. 

Only 7% would be “enthusiastic” in a Biden victory, compared to 17% for the former president. 

In a hypothetical 2020 rematch, Trump has a 48% to 45% edge over Biden, which falls within the poll’s margin of error.

If Trump ran and won, 83% of Republicans say they would view it positively, while 78% of Democrats say that if Biden won. 

At the two-year point in his presidency, Biden is still struggling with his approval rating – 42% say they “disapprove strongly” and 10% “disapprove somewhat” of how he’s handling the job of president.

At the same time, 18% “approve strongly” and 24% “approve somewhat” of the president. 

And 41% of Americans say financially they are “not as well off” since Biden took office, with 16% saying they are “better off” and 42% say they are “about the same.”

Fifty-eight percent disapprove of how Biden is handling the economy. 

Asked about the classified documents scandal involving Biden and Trump, 45% believe the former president “intentionally did something illegal,” compared to the 17% who say that about the president. 

Almost half – 45% – say Biden “acted wrongly but not intentionally” and 16% say he did nothing wrong.

Regarding Trump, 29% say he “acted wrongly but not intentionally” and 20% believe he did nothing wrong. 

The poll surveyed 1,003 Americans between Jan. 27- Feb. 1.

It has a plus/minus 3.5 percentage points margin of error.