Julián Castro: Latest Trump-Biden poll ‘should be worrisome’ for Democrats

Correction: A previous version of this story inaccurately described a previous position held by Castro.

Former Obama Cabinet member Julián Castro said recent polling that shows President Biden lagging behind former President Trump in a potential 2024 rematch should raise some eyebrows in the Democratic Party.

An ABC-Washington Post poll this week showed that Trump had a 48 percent to 45 percent advantage over the incumbent president, a gap that was within the poll’s margin of error. The tight match-up was paired with the finding that a majority of Democratic voters would prefer for the party to nominate someone else for the position in 2024.

“It’s the general consensus that Dems are content with Biden in a Trump rematch,” tweeted Castro, a former San Antonio mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate who now serves as a political analyst for NBC and MSNBC. “But this poll undermines Biden’s central argument for re-nomination.”

Biden has not formally announced his reelection campaign but has said he plans to run again. Trump jumped into the race early, announcing his campaign after the 2022 midterms. He is expected to face opposition from a number of Republican candidates.

Thus far, Democrats have left the field open for Biden to run, deferring to the sitting president. But Castro maintained the poll highlights potential issues for the Democratic incumbent.

“Two years is forever and it’s just one poll, but if he’s faring this poorly after a string of wins, that should be worrisome,” said Castro, who served in the Obama administration as the Housing and Urban Development secretary.

Biden’s approval rating in the poll of 1,003 people reached its highest mark, 42 percent, since April. The poll also found that Republicans were nearly evenly split on wanting Trump to be the nominee in 2024.