Rasmussen Poll: Biden's Philly Speech Leaves Voters Divided President Joe Biden. (Getty Images)
By Eric Mack | Monday, 12 September 2022 12:28 PM EDT
President Joe Biden might have campaigned on unifying the country, but he effectively split the country in two with his recent speech denouncing "MAGA Republicans," according to the latest Rasmussen Reports poll.
The poll asked likely voters whether they agreed with Biden's Sep. 1 speech in Philadelphia, where he said: "Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic."
The results show how wide the partisan divide has split under Biden. While 80% of Democrats agree with Biden's statement, there were 76% of Republicans who disagreed. Notably, a majority of those not with either of those two parties (independents and third-party voters) disagreed with Biden's remarks. Biden had just 40% support for his divisiveness.
Overall, 48% of likely voters agree with Biden (36% strongly), while 47% disagree (39% strongly).
A tweet from Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, was also poll tested by Rasmussen: "Joe Biden should quit blaming 'MAGA Republicans' and get to working on the economy he ruined."
Jordan's remarks were more widely accepted than Biden's in the poll:
- 58% agreed with Jordan (46% strongly).
- Just 38% disagreed with Jordan (26% strongly).
Jordan also won the unaffiliated/third-party nod, with only Democrats against him, too:
- 83% of Republicans agreed with Jordan.
- 60% of Democrats disagreed with Jordan.
- 55% of unaffiliated voters agreed with Jordan.
- Just 38% of unaffiliated voters disagreed with Jordan.
Among the 69% of likely voters that closely followed the news reports of Biden's speech (39% very closely), there were 50% disagreeing with his remarks. That topped the 47% that agreed with Biden.
Rasmussen Reports polled 1,000 likely U.S. voters Sept. 6-7. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.