Biden bizarrely cites poll that most Democrats don’t want him to run in 2024 as evidence he should

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox

Get our free Inside Washington email

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

US president Joe Biden misrepresented a recent poll that showed most Democrats don’t want him to run for office again, arguing that the party does in fact support him in contesting the 2024 election.

A recent poll conducted by The New York Times found that at least 64 per cent of Democrats want a new candidate for the next presidential election.

When Mr Biden was asked if he had anything to say to those Democrats who want him to hang up his boots after a single term, he replied: “They want me to run.

“Read the poll. Read the polls, Jack. You guys are all the same,” the president said at the White House Congressional Picnic on Tuesday.

“That poll showed that 92 per cent of Democrats, if I ran, would vote for me,” he claimed.

When a reporter corrected him saying that a majority of Democrats don’t want him to run again in 2024, Mr Biden continued: “Ninety-two per cent said, if I did, they would vote for me.”

According to the poll, released on Monday, 92 per cent of Democrats said they would stick with Mr Biden if the only alternative is former president Donald Trump.

Mr Biden’s approval rating among Democrats stood at 70 per cent, a relatively low figure for a president from their own party, according to the poll.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had also used the same figures on Monday to exaggerate support for Mr Biden.

When CNN’s Kaitlin Collins asked Ms Jean-Pierre about the new poll, the press secretary said: “And I would also say from that very same poll, there were 92 per cent of Democrats who support this president as well.”

The president is currently on a trip to the Middle East, with a three-day stop in Israel, where officials say Iran’s quickly-evolving nuclear programme is at the top of their agenda.