Staff Reports
It was not a good day for President Joe Biden in Michigan, according to the VIP report. His popularity among black voters was not living up to expectations and polls showed that young voters were not as enthusiastic about him as they were during the last election. President Biden seemed to be striking out with not just the black community, but also the Muslim and Arab-American populations in Michigan. And with former President Donald Trump leading in the key battleground state, Biden was facing some tough competition.
Axios released a write-up of its Axios-Generation Lab poll, which surveyed 1,073 young voters aged 18-34. The results were not looking great for Biden. While he still had more support than Trump, it was a narrow lead of 52-48 percent. And among those who were “100% guaranteed” to vote, Biden’s support only rose to 59 percent. With the economy being the top concern for young voters and President Biden not getting high marks in that department, it was clear that he had some work to do if he wanted to win over the younger demographic.
Biden Is Only Narrowly Leading With Young Voters https://t.co/Q1YlzSnNIL Wait until they start hearing him say "draft" so we have a military to send to Ukraine or Gaza or wherever he can start another war……
— YoungDuck (@lduck623) February 28, 2024
Meanwhile, Trump was gaining favor with young voters, according to other polls. A New York Times/Siena College survey found Trump leading Biden among voters under 30, and an NBC News poll showed Trump ahead of Biden by four points with voters under 35. The Harvard CAPS-Harris poll also showed that Gen Z voters were more approving of Trump’s job as president, with 64 percent of voters aged 18-24 giving him their approval.
Even Biden’s support for Israel was hurting him with younger voters. The Axios write-up claimed that polls showed Biden’s stance on Israel was affecting his popularity among young voters. And as the Israel-Hamas War continued, Biden seemed to be showing even less support for Israel, causing more confusion and concern among voters.
On the other hand, Trump had a strong pro-Israel record during his time in office, which could have been contributing to his growing support among young voters. With Biden’s lead over Trump among young voters being so narrow, his position on Israel and the economy were definitely not working in his favor.
With Michigan being a potential battleground state once again, Biden needed to step up his game if he wanted to secure those crucial votes. While he may have won the primary in Michigan, there were still over 100,000 voters who selected “uncommitted,” showing that there was some uncertainty and doubt about Biden among Democratic voters.
In the end, it was clear that Biden had some serious work to do in order to win over young voters and secure victory in Michigan. The polls were not looking promising for him, and with Trump gaining momentum among this demographic, the road ahead was only going to get tougher for the President.
