CNN polling expert Harry Enten signaled Tuesday that President Biden once welcomed surveys when he was ahead during the 2020 election but dismisses them now because they show he’s trailing former President Trump in some key states.
“He loved the polls four years ago when they showed him ahead,” Enten told CNN anchor Erin Burnett on Tuesday. “These are the same polls now. But here’s the thing — the polls can be right at this point, and then keep in mind, we still have six months until the election. Polls can change plenty.”
Enten was responding to remarks Biden made to CNN last week, in which he said, “the polling data has been all wrong.”
“How many of you guys do a poll at CNN? How many folks do you have to call to get one response?” Biden asked Burnett last week.
Polling released as recent as this week is setting off more alarm bells for the incumbent, who is struggling to catch up to Trump’s lead in several battleground states.
A New York Times/Siena College/Philadelphia Inquirer poll, released earlier this week, found Trump leading in five out of six swing states, with Wisconsin as the only state the incumbent is in front. The president is also losing support among young voters and Black and Hispanic voters, all groups that are crucial to his voting coalition, per the poll.
The survey results show Trump leading Biden by 3 percentage points in Pennsylvania, 5 points in Michigan, 7 points in Arizona, 10 points in Georgia and 12 points in Nevada. Biden led Trump by 2 points in Wisconsin.
Enten on Monday called the numbers out of Nevada and Arizona “an absolute disaster.” He added that the numbers from Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin were less concerning for the Biden campaign, suggesting a sweep of the Great Lakes states and traditional “blue wall” is the president’s likeliest path to reelection.
Speaking with Burnett on Tuesday, the polling expert noted surveys months ahead of the presidential election often vary from the November election results.
“On election day in the average battleground states, the polls were off 6 points since 1972,” he said. “In 2020, they were off 5 points. So, if we’re talking about 1-, 2-point leads in these battleground states, the polls could be showing one thing and then the other person could certainly win.”
Biden won all six battleground states in 2020, though the wins were notably narrow in Arizona, Georgia, and Wisconsin.
Allies of Biden told The Hill this week that his reelection campaign has more work to do to ensure a win in November.
“With the usual stipulations about polls six months out, Biden is behind,” said Jim Kessler, co-founder of the left-leaning think tank Third Way. “They need to be in a better place on the border, crime and inflation to win. They have a story to tell on each and further actions they can take, but they need to get cracking.”
The Hill reached out to the Biden campaign for further comment.