Biden shedding support within own party, poll finds

As 2024 grows ever closer, President Joe Biden's standing among voters -- even in his own party -- has continued to fall, according to a Gallup poll released Thursday, as Breitbart reports.

Specifically, over the course of just one month, Biden's approval rating plummeted 11 points within the Democratic ranks as hostilities in the Middle East escalated.

Axios suggested that a key driver of Biden's sinking popularity with Democrats is the support he has shown to Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.

With sizable numbers of left-leaning voters harboring sympathy for the Palestinians and standing in opposition to Israeli military actions in Gaza, Biden's approval rating has dropped from 86% to 75%.

It was just back in February that within Biden's party, support for Palestinians outpaced that for Israelis – a poll result that had never been recorded in the 20-year history of Gallup asking the question.

Based on findings from a recent NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, the Democratic Party's schism on the issue of support for Israel is especially noticeable when age is taken into account.

Under half of younger voters in the millennial and Gen. Z age demographics believe that the U.S. is right to voice public support for Israel, according to the survey.

Biden has attempted to walk a fine line with regard to the conflict in the Middle East, supporting Israel's right to defend itself while vowing to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians, but thus far, such actions have not stopped the bleeding in terms of declining poll numbers.

Despite the president's commitment to offering assistance to impacted communities in Gaza – resources some fear could end up under the control of Hamas – Biden lost ground in terms of overall approval, with just 35% of independents backing him, together with a mere 5% of Republican voters.

As if Biden wasn't already on shaky enough ground, on Friday, news emerged that he would face a primary challenge from Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), who announced his candidacy for the Oval Office, as NBC News explained.

Known as a moderate member of his party, Phillips has been viewed by many as rising star who has praised Biden's contributions to the country while also questioning his viability as a candidate in the next cycle due to concerns about age and declining competency.

Phillips is the latest entrant in a field of challengers to Biden that includes Democrats Marianne Williamson and Cenk Uygur, independent Robert Kennedy Jr, and progressive activist Cornel West.

While Phillips' campaign for the presidency may indeed be an extreme long shot, his membership in the House Problem Solvers Caucus and his distance from the far-left faction of his party on issues including policing and school safety, could find substantial appeal among Democrats disillusioned with Biden and peel potentially income-determinative numbers of votes away from the incumbent.

The Minnesota Democrat has not been shy about expressing his fear that Biden's slipping support could hand the presidency back to Donald Trump, saying on Friday, “I will not sit still and be quiet in the face of numbers that are so clearly saying that we're going to be facing an emergency next November.”