Recent reports suggest former President Donald Trump is going to run for president again in the 2024 election while other reports suggest sitting President Joe Biden's approval rating is waning in the wake of our disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. In a recent poll, respondents were asked for their opinions on different presidential election frontrunners, including who they would vote for if presented with a Trump vs. Biden ballot a second time in 2024.
In a poll conducted by Emerson College, respondents were presented with a hypothetical Trump vs. Biden matchup in 2024. Trump was favored by respondents, with 47 percent saying they would vote for him. Forty-six percent of respondents said they would vote for Biden. In a Biden vs. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) matchup, Biden is favored at 48 percent while DeSantis stands at 36 percent. With Mitt Romney thrown into the mix, 48 percent of respondents said they would vote for Biden, 23 percent for Romney, and 29 percent indicating they would vote for another candidate altogether.
Overwhelmingly, a majority of Republican voters, 67 percent, say they would vote for Trump if he were to run in the 2024 election. Runner-up is DeSantis, with 10 percent of Republicans saying they would vote for him. All other candidates got less than double-digit support. However, when Trump was removed from the mix, 32 percent of respondents claimed they'd vote for DeSantis, 24 percent would vote for former Vice President Mike Pence, 13 percent would vote for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R), and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) at 10 percent. All other candidates were below 10 percent.
The poll, which was surveyed from Aug. 30 to Sept. 1, also indicated which president respondents think holds the most responsibility for the outcome in Afghanistan. Contrary to news reports suggesting Biden and Trump are responsible, nearly half of respondents, 49 percent, point fingers at former President George W. Bush. Twenty-four percent blame Biden, while 18 percent blame former President Barack Obama. Trump saw the smallest percentage, at only 10 percent of respondents thinking he is responsible for Afghanistan.
When these statistics are broken down, the majority of respondents who hold Bush, Obama, and Biden responsible believe that the United States lost the war. The percentages are 73 percent, 70 percent, and 68 percent, respectively. The majority of respondents who hold Trump responsible for the outcome of Afghanistan, 57 percent, believe the U.S. won the war. Overarching, 68 percent believe the U.S. lost the war, 32 percent think the U.S. won.
Going a step further, 50 percent of respondents surveyed said the U.S. should not recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan. Twenty-one percent think the opposite. Thirty percent remain unsure.
Looking toward 2024, 60 percent of Democratic voters said they'd like to see Biden as the Democratic nominee. Thirty-nine percent said they'd like it to be someone else. Emerson College notes that these numbers have decreased since their poll in February.