Confirmed: Rumors of a Joe Biden ‘Comeback’ Were Greatly Exaggerated

We reported Friday on how CNN’s Chris “reporters don’t pick sides” Cillizza was salivating over a post-State of the Union address poll from NPR/PBS/Marist that showed President Biden with an eight point jump (to 47%) in comparison to a prior poll taken by the same outfit a few weeks prior.

“The possibility of a Joe Biden comeback now exists,” Cillizza enthusiastically tweeted, setting tongues wagging on the left about the prospect of it happening considering Biden’s numbers also rose in the same poll on his handling of the Ukraine/Russia conflict and his management of the coronavirus pandemic.

As Bonchie wrote in his piece at the time, the likelihood of this poll being a sign of things to come was slim to none considering a couple of other polls (Rasumussen and Reuters) released at the same time showed his numbers continued to be dismal.

Since that time, an additional two polls have been taken which further confirm that the one Cillizza gleefully referenced was indeed an outlier. The first one, from IBD/TIPP, showed Biden gaining one point overall in approval rating (39%) and with virtually no movement among the crucial independent voting bloc:

However, the March survey of 1,318 adults found that the president’s address, which covered inflation and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, did not sway independents. Only 27 percent of independents approve of Biden’s performance — the same result as in February.

The figure for independents who disapprove was 53 percent in March, down from 55 percent in February.

He did, however, improve eight points among Democrats, with 74% approving – though the number seems high, a political party not rallying around their president and giving him numbers in the 80s and 90s in an election year is usually bad news for the party in charge.

In a Quinnipiac poll released Monday, Biden saw only a one-point jump (to 38%) among Americans over his numbers in the same poll from last week, with people still “divided” on his handling of Russia’s attack on Ukraine:

Americans are divided on Joe Biden’s handling of the response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with 42 percent approving, 45 percent disapproving, and 13 percent not offering an opinion. This compares to a week ago when 39 percent approved, and 47 percent disapproved.

For his overall job approval, Americans give Biden a negative 38 – 51 percent job approval rating with 11 percent not offering an opinion. This compares to a negative 37 – 52 percent job approval rating a week ago.

I’ve seen a few “reporters” on Twitter try and spin the newer numbers as an “improvement” over his numbers in the same polls from back in January but then again desperately spinning like tops to portray bad polling numbers in a positive light for a Democrat president is nothing new for the lamestream media.

When/if Joe Biden consistently starts getting over 50% in polls again, get back with me on the “comeback” stuff, because all signs have pointed for months to Democrats being routed come the fall elections, and one outlier poll does not change any of that. In fact, considering gas prices are reaching record highs, look for Biden’s numbers to start dropping again as Americans feel the crunch at the gas pumps – and in the grocery stores.