The permanent unpopularity of the American president

Remember that 40-43% was a good number for Trump throughout his tenure. Trump can win a Round 2, but he’ll be bound to the basement of unpopularity.

Vice President Kamala Harris? She’s stuck at 41%, 11 points underwater in a role that is more symbolic than substance. But Harris’ has struggled to even get rudimentary tasks right, fumbling through answers and leaving the impression she’s out of her depths.

Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor who would be the freshest face with the best shot at flourishing start for the red team, would have to soften his personal edges to sustain anything beyond a multi-month honeymoon. A start over 50% in January 2025 is completely imaginable for DeSantis, but not for any longer than Biden.

Pete Buttigieg is perhaps the most natural politician available for Americans to want to love. Young, brainy and quick-on-his-feet, Buttigieg might attempt to restore the Obama-like spirit that made people want to feel good about their future and reach out to their political antithesis.

But given his own moderate temperament, it’s also easy to see how the same liberal contingent who are unenthusiastic about Biden become resentful of Buttigieg simply for his all-too-neatly planned raw ambition.