Biden and Trump Repulse Voters as GOP Shows Signs of Becoming Normal Again

Is it possible to have buyers’ regret on two presidents in a row? Americans seem to suffer just that when it comes to President Joe Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump. Just as important, the Republican Party shows signs of moving on from its status in recent years as little more than Trump’s cult of personality. Polls suggest that many Republicans appear ready to reclaim their party’s status as a movement of ideas and policies rather than a personal vehicle.

“Roughly 7 in 10 Americans (71 percent) say they would not like to see Joe Biden run for president in 2024, while 24 percent say they would like to see him seek a second term” finds a Quinnipiac poll published July 20. “More than 6 in 10 Americans (64 percent) say they would not like to see Donald Trump run for president in 2024, while 32 percent say they would like to see him run.”

“There’s scant enthusiasm for a replay of either a Trump or Biden presidency. But while Trump still holds sway on his base, President Biden is underwater when it comes to support from his own party,” observed Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy.

Of course, Americans as a whole don’t pick standard-bearers for political parties, primary voters do. What’s important here is that 54 percent of Democrats do not want the sitting president from their own party to run for reelection in 2024. Republicans are more enthusiastic about their once and, potentially, future leader, with only 27 percent opposing him running again. That said, when asked who they want to represent their party in the 2024 presidential race, many are willing to consider alternatives.

“Michigan GOP primary voters were asked if they would support Donald Trump or [Florida governor] Ron DeSantis to be the Republican candidate for President in 2024, with the results producing only a small modest lead for Donald Trump,” according to a WDIV/Detroit News survey released this week. “45.2% said they’d vote for Trump, while 41.6% said they’d vote for DeSantis. 12.4% were undecided.”

The Michigan numbers square with a June survey of New Hampshire Republicans.

“When provided with a list of Republicans who are thought by observers to be considering running for President in 2024, likely New Hampshire Republican primary voters (N=318) are split between DeSantis and Trump, with 39% preferring the Florida governor and 37% supporting the former president,” note University of New Hampshire pollsters.

Unsurprisingly, Ron DeSantis strongly outpolls Trump in his home state of Florida, with 51 percent for the governor and 33 percent for the former president in a Victory Insights poll published this week.

Simultaneous eroding enthusiasm for both the current president and his predecessor (and rival) is remarkable in itself. Biden won office by defeating a controversial and mercurial cartoon-character of an oppone