Fareed Zakaria, one of CNN’s most prominent on-air talents and a reliable Trump critic in the past, issued President Joe Biden an ominous warning after declaring that recent major events have not played out “as I thought it would.”
Zakaria, host of Sunday’s Global Public Square program, begged Democrats to be “honest about the reality” they face in the wake of consistent polls showing former President Donald Trump leading in almost every swing state. Though he has more than five months to make up ground, President Biden is showing very real vulnerabilities with key demographics that should have been shored up by now, said the host.
“As someone worried about the prospects of a second Trump term, I think it’s best to be honest about reality,” Zakaria told viewers, adding that polls have “tended to underestimate” the well of support Trump draws among registered and likely voters. “I doubt that there are many shy Biden voters in the country,” he quipped.
Spinning a “robust recovery” of the economy over the past two years and unemployment at a 54-year low, Zakaria lamented the lack of credit the Democratic incumbent is receiving for his leadership. “The shift here is stark,” he said. “On the issue of who voters trust to deal with the economy, Trump has a 22-point lead over Biden… This marks a 15-point bump for Trump compared to the same poll in 2020.”
WATCH:
Critics of the Biden administration have rightly pointed out that persistent inflation and high interest rates are negating the positive news of higher corporate earnings and increased hiring. In recent polls, Americans have expressed dissatisfaction with their ability to afford everyday expenses from gas to groceries — 41% of Gallup respondents named inflation as the most important issue facing the economy, overshadowing any accomplishments Biden could claim credit for on other fronts.
Zakaria predicted that Biden and Democrats would “benefit” from recent debates over abortion access at the state level but remains “35 points behind Trump” on the issue of immigration. “I do wonder whether abortion will be as large an issue in a presidential race given that reversing Roe v. Wade threw the issue to state governments and not the federal government,” he said.
But “perhaps the most worrying sign for Democrats is that, far from being the more unified party they are not bitterly divided over the war in Gaza,” Zakaria continued, highlighting recent remarks by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) predicting the issue could become “Biden’s Vietnam.” Just 33% of poll respondents approved of Biden’s handling of the conflict.
President Trump, meanwhile, has largely united the GOP base while remaining in the spotlight during his criminal trial, stoking sympathy from supporters who “see him as a martyr” and undecided voters who may come to believe that his trials as “politically motivated,” Zakaria said. “I doubt the New York indictment would have been brought against a defendant whose name was not Donald Trump.”
“Trump could always embroil himself in some kind of scandal, but trendlines are not working in Biden’s favor,” he added. “I have to admit, none of this is playing out as I thought it would.”