"Increasingly frustrated" President Joe Biden ordered his closest aides into a Thanksgiving meeting as his effort to stay in the White House has become more of a battle than he expected, the Washington Post reported Monday.
The meeting included “stern words” that his poll numbers against Trump were “unacceptably low” — and he demanded to know what action was being taken, the Post reported.
During the meeting, he complained that his messages on the economy — expected to be a vote winner — seemed to be falling on deaf ears, several people familiar with the conversation told the Post.
The White House declined to confirm that the meeting took place.
But the Post’s sources said Biden has been frustrated for months, and in recent weeks he and First Lady Jill Biden “have grown upset that they are not making more progress.”
Since the Thanksgiving meeting, little has been done to alter Biden’s trajectory, with Trump leading him in most national polls.
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The Post reported that the unexpected closeness of the fight was now worrying other Democrats.
“Democrats in competitive races are growing increasingly worried about Biden damaging their own electoral prospects,” the report said.
“Biden officials have grown accustomed to Democratic anxiety about their every move and the state of their campaign. They routinely point to comments made by lawmakers, donors and pundits who declared Biden’s 2020 primary campaign over when he was routed in Iowa and New Hampshire before he went on to win the nomination and the presidency,” the Post reported.
“But now Biden’s approval rating has tied his record low, standing at 38 percent with 58 percent disapproving, according to a Washington Post average of 17 polls in November and December. Voters, including a majority of Democrats, are particularly concerned about Biden’s age and consistently rank it as a bigger problem for the president, 81, than Trump, 77.”
Former Congressman Conor Lamb (D-PA) told the Post Biden had a problem with grass root supporters, who were out of touch with much of the country.
“I think a lot of activists feel that everyone they know is happy with the president,” he said. “They’re not understanding who is in the majority of the country that is dissatisfied and what to do to change their minds."
On Sunday, reporters asked Biden why he was trailing to Trump in many polls.
He told them they were reading “the wrong polls.”
