New York Times: Joe Biden Suffers ‘Enthusiasm Gap’

The New York Times reported Thursday that Democratic presidential primary frontrunner Joe Biden leads in the polls but suffers from an “enthusiasm gap” among supporters that makes him vulnerable to his many challengers.

The Times‘ Katie Glueck wrote:

Joseph R. Biden Jr. is coasting in the national polls. Surveys show him ahead of his Democratic rivals in hypothetical matchups against President Trump. He has maintained a lead in Iowa all summer, despite facing months of controversies over his record and his campaign missteps.

But less than two weeks before Labor Day, when presidential campaigns traditionally kick into high gear, there are signs of a disconnect between his relatively rosy poll numbers and excitement for his campaign on the ground here, in the state that begins the presidential nominating process.

It is not clear what proof the Times has to support the claim. It cites crowd sizes, a measure that others (including Breitbart News) have used as a proxy measure of enthusiasm — though the Times repeats an inaccurate claim that Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) drew 12,000 to an event this week in Minnesota (the real number was 6,000 at most).

The Times cites anecdotal evidence, quoting one pollster: “I did not meet one Biden voter who was in any way, shape or form excited about voting for Biden. … They feel that they have to vote for Joe Biden as the centrist candidate, to keep somebody from the left who they feel is unelectable from getting the nomination.”

The main argument appears to be that since Biden is banking his campaign on electability, he will only retain support as long as he remains the frontrunner. The moment he begins to lose, his support will evaporate.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He earned an A.B. in Social Studies and Environmental Science and Public Policy from Harvard College, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.