Media shocked by Biden’s lack of strength against Trump.

A new ⁢poll that has President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump in a ‌virtual tie for a 2024 rematch has shocked mainstream media hosts over the long⁣ weekend.

The Wall Street Journal poll, released ‌Saturday,​ reveals that⁣ Trump and Biden are evenly split at 46 percent support in a head-to-head matchup. This result, according to ⁢ABC News host George Stephanopoulos, is “kind of shocking” considering the indictments against Trump.

MSNBC’s Alex Witt was​ similarly incredulous, saying Saturday that despite Trump’s⁤ “mugshot and ‍four criminal indictments, you⁤ would think ‍President Biden would have a⁤ significant advantage, but apparently not.”

New ⁢York Times White House correspondent Peter Baker agreed with Witt, stating that according to⁤ “the old⁣ rules ​of politics,” Trump “would of course have no possible ‌viability as a candidate.”

“But ​we’re in a ‌different era, and this is a different⁢ kind of candidate,” Baker said. “The indictments …‍ have actually seemed to embolden ‌his base.”

In a ​follow-up poll ​released on Monday, the Journal found that more voters see Trump as having a record of accomplishments as president,‌ believe​ Trump has a vision for ​the future, and describe‌ Trump ⁢as mentally up to ‍the presidency.

The⁤ Journal‘s polls ⁢are not the only ​ones with bad news for Biden. Schoen Cooperman ‍Research released a poll on Saturday ⁤with results strikingly similar⁤ to ​the Journal‘s.

“A plurality or outright‍ majority disapprove of Biden’s performance” on almost every issue, ​including inflation,⁤ jobs and the economy, immigration, gun violence, and health care,⁤ the poll⁤ found.

The race is close “not purely‌ because⁤ of the strength of Trump’s candidacy,” pollsters Douglas Schoen and Carly Cooperman wrote, “but, rather, because of Biden’s weaknesses.”

The ⁢ Atlantic‘s Ronald Brownstein published ‌a nearly 2,000-word piece on Saturday to ​explain⁤ why “Biden just‍ can’t ​shake‌ Trump ‍in the polls.”

Former Bernie Sanders pollster Ben‍ Tulchin told Brownstein ‍that “inflation exacerbates some of Biden’s longest-standing⁤ electoral problems,” including the ‌president’s​ struggles ‍to​ connect with younger voters and Latinos.

A⁤ Times poll⁣ released‌ on Tuesday ​found that⁢ Biden is‌ underperforming ‌among nonwhite voters. “These ​tallies might still be the worst for ⁤a Democratic leader among Black and Hispanic voters” since 1984, Times pollster⁢ Nate Cohn⁤ wrote.