Trump is a ‘criminal’ and Biden is ‘old’: Voters give one-word verdicts on 2024 candidates

Ask voters what word comes to mind when they think of the leading Republican candidates in the 2024 election and the results are not flattering.

Former President Donald Trump is a “criminal”, “dangerous” and “disgusting”.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is “fascist”, “racist”, but also a “leader”.

And newcomer Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, is simply “fat” or “irrelevant.”

This is the result of a survey conducted by JL Partners for DailyMail.com of 1,000 likely general election voters.

The word clouds generated for the headlines are far from flattering. 1000 likely voters were asked to describe 2024 runners in one word. Source: JL Partners

Add their likely Democratic opponent and the descriptions don’t get much better.

The word cloud for President Joe Biden ranges from “old” and “incompetent” to “senile” and “corrupt.”

And the results suggest that Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor of California, has a lot of work to do if he answers the call from those in his party who want a younger challenger for Biden. “Unknown” and “uncertain” were the words associated with him.

Everyone does better among their own party voters. But crucially independent voters are turning to wildly negative words.

James Johnson, co-founder of JL Partners, said the one-word survey was not just an exercise in jokes, but offered insight into how leaders are viewed across the country.

“The key group for the next election – independent voters – are unhappy with any of the choices currently available,” he said.

“To them, Trump is ‘disgusting’, a ‘criminal’ and an ‘asshole’, while Biden is ‘old’, ‘senile’ and ‘incompetent’.

“DeSantis gets some credit for his leadership in Florida, while Christie and Newsom are too unknown to enroll. What is clear is that — for independents and the American people alike — there is little enthusiasm for the idea of ​​a 2020 rematch next year.

The contest for the Republican nomination is currently a race between Trump and DeSantis. But the Florida governor’s supporters say he has a better chance in the 2024 general election

Word clouds suggest voters aren’t keen on the idea of ​​a 2020 rematch. Even Democrats can only offer “stable” and “competent” for Biden, though “the former “still dominates the cloud. Republicans increasingly excited about ‘awesome’, ‘patriotic’ Trump

This cloud suggests DeSantis has some way to go if he wants to win over independent voters

Yet it is in this direction that both parties are heading. Biden is a shoo-in for the Democratic nomination unless he quits or drops dead, while Trump is the clear favorite on the Republican side.

Commentators are already talking about voter fatigue among voters who feel they know both candidates well and don’t care much about either. Neither can claim positive favor ratings in the office, for example.

And at 80 and 77, they don’t exactly represent hope or excitement for the future.

This means that when Democrats are asked for words to describe their octogenarian president, they choose words like “steadfast”, “competent” and “honest”.

Republicans choose “patriot”, “leader” and “awesome” for Trump.

DeSantis gets similar words — “leader,” “smart” and “strong” — suggesting his arch-rival’s attempts to define him early have yet to resonate with Republicans flirting with the Florida governor pick.

California Governor Gavin Newsom is often touted as a Democratic alternative to Biden, 80. But his word cloud suggests he has work to do to build his national profile

That still leaves moderate Republicans alarmed at how their party has been taken over by Trump and his former cronies, who are bickering over the same populist territory.

Meghan Milloy, founder of Republican Women for Progress, said: “The Republican Party likes to think we’ve grown so much since 2016, but the truth is we’ve gotten worse.

“We now think Trump is the norm and anyone slightly less awful is Mother Theresa.

“Until we are able to completely reset our barometers of decency to take into account the rule of law, dedication to democracy and real ability to win, we will continue to face a list of ding dongs that will only strengthen a Biden White House.’

A new poll for DailyMail.com shows Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is currently in the best position to take on President Joe Biden in the 2024 election.

The poll results suggest that if the general election were held tomorrow, Biden would narrowly retain the White House.

He would beat DeSantis by one point (44% of the vote to 43), Trump by two points and newcomer Pence by three points.

Still, with 17 months to go, there’s plenty to play for as Biden trails the independents and the numbers point to an excruciatingly close race.

Biden is also considered too old to be president by some 71% of voters and by nearly half of Democratic voters.

The poll was conducted June 12-15 and used landlines, cell phones, text messages and apps to reach 1,000 potential general election voters across the United States. It has a margin of error of 3.1%.