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The latest CNN poll shows that President Biden has a significant challenge in his 2024 reelection bid. The network’s new poll, released on Thursday, paints a bleak picture of the current president and his administration. 

It reveals that an overwhelming 66% of Americans perceive a Biden victory in the upcoming presidential election as either a "disaster" or a "setback" for the United States.

The impact of this news was not lost on CNN anchor Jake Tapper, who expressed his dismay upon learning the poll results, calling it "horrible news" for Biden. Tapper emphasized the gravity of the situation, acknowledging that "those are some bad numbers."

Further analysis of the poll by CNN political director David Challian revealed that 41% of Americans specifically labeled a Biden win as a "disaster," a slightly better figure compared to the 44% who held the same opinion about former President Trump. 

An additional 26% of Americans regarded a Biden victory as a "setback," while only 12% expressed the same sentiment about a potential Trump win.

CNN poll shocks

Surprisingly, both candidates were tied at 27% among those who considered their respective victories as a "step forward," but Trump held a ten-point advantage over Biden among those who saw it as a "triumph."

Chalian provided insight into the differing levels of support, claiming that, “Trump's hardcore supporters are more into him than perhaps Biden's hardcore supporters are into him." 

This discrepancy in enthusiasm seems to have contributed to the negative perception surrounding both candidates. Most Americans view electing either of them as undesirable.

To compound the challenges facing Biden, the poll indicated that he has a low overall approval rating of 35%, which is described as "remarkably low." 

The breakdown by party affiliation revealed that while Biden enjoys 79% support among Democrats, he has only 26% support among independents, representing a significant drop of nine points since December. In contrast, Trump's overall approval rating stood slightly higher at 37%.

Even within his own party, Biden faces strong competition from primary challengers. While he garnered 60% support, an astonishing 20% expressed their backing for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with 8% supporting spiritual guru and former 2020 presidential candidate Marianne Williamson, and an additional 8% preferring another candidate. 

Notably, within the subset of Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents, 67% of loyal party members supported Biden, compared to only 40% of leaning independents. 

Kennedy and DiSantis provide alternatives

The considerable support for Kennedy among the leaning independents raised concerns. It was viewed as a "potential warning sign" by Chalian, as he garnered 32% support from this group compared to just 15% from party loyalists.