CNN’s Poppy Harlow said Monday she was “stunned” after CNN’s David Axelrod called on President Joe Biden to decide whether he should stay in the race following a New York Times/Siena College poll.
The poll found that former President Donald Trump leads Biden in five out of six crucial swing states by substantial margins, with Trump polling ahead in Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Michigan by at least 3 points, if not 1o in some cases. Wisconsin is the only other swing state in which Biden holds a lead within the margin of error over Trump. The poll also found Biden seeing a decline amongst black and Hispanic voters.
“It seems like he has an uphill battle on almost every front in these states in the polling, whether it’s the economy whether it’s handling of the Israel –Hamas war, et cetera,” Harlow said. “David Axelrod of course was very close to Biden when he was vice president in the Obama White House. Here’s what he tweeted. ‘Only Joe Biden can make the decision. If he continues to run, he will be the nominee of the Democratic Party. What he needs to decide is whether that is wise, whether it’s in his best interest or the country’s.'”
“I was stunned reading that and I wonder what the read is at the White House,” Harlow said. (RELATED: ABC’s Jon Karl Says Trump Is Leading In Swing States Because Voters Have ‘Not Been Paying Attention’)
“President Biden sees these types of warnings from Democrats all the time, just as we see them in the press,” CNN’s White House correspondent Arlette Saenz said. “But one thing that his team continuously stresses is that he has been underestimated before. He was underestimated in 2020. And they believe that will be the case this time around, that he has a record that they believe is successful, and that he can run on.”
“But there are some just very challenging figures in these polls, concerns about his age are also a key topic of discussion. Not just among swing state voters, but also among Democrats. But ultimately what the campaign believes is that when this gets down to a race between President Biden and potentially former President Trump that that contrast will really crystallize, and that is what will not just propel Democrats to coalesce around President Biden but also the country writ large in these key swing states,” Harlow went on to say.
A Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll found Trump is also edging ahead in several swing states, with Trump leading Biden an average of 47% to 43% in Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.