White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Friday downplayed how President Joe Biden‘s recent drop in the polls might be affecting Virginia’s gubernatorial election, arguing that he is “the most popular figure in Virginia of anyone currently running for president.”
During Friday’s press briefing, Fox News’ Peter Doocy pressed Psaki about McAuliffe, a former Democratic governor of Virginia running for a second term, blaming the tight election on Biden’s waning popularity.
“We are facing a lot of headwinds from Washington,” McAuliffe said during a virtual rally. “As you know, the president is unpopular today, unfortunately, here in Virginia, so we’ve got to plow through.”
A recent Quinnipiac poll showed Biden’s job approval rating had fallen to an all-time low of 38%, down four points from three weeks ago. The survey showed an unsurprising partisan divide, with Republicans (94 -4%) and independents (60-32%) disapproving of how Biden is doing, and Democrats approving 80-10%.
Psaki brushed off McAuliffe’s polling comments, telling Doocy, “If you look at facts in the polling, the president is the most popular figure in Virginia of anyone currently running for president or any former recent president.”
“So I just note that in terms of the data,” Psaki added. “But I would say the president’s agenda is incredibly popular. That’s probably the reason why former governor McAuliffe is also running on
Psaki’s comments about the polling are odd for a number of reasons.
First, the low poll numbers refer to Biden’s approval rating, not his popularity as a presidential candidate.
Secondly, even if the low polling DID refer to his election odds, Biden is the only politician to have publicly confirmed plans to run in 2024. So logically Biden would be the most popular person running for president in Virginia since he is the only one currently doing so.
Psaki was correct, however, in claiming that Americans widely support Biden’s Build Back Better agenda. Polling from Navigator Research found 66% of Americans support the plan, including 39% of Republicans.
Watch above, via Fox News