Washington Post columnist David Ignatius warned Monday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that President Joe Biden will need to “sling warm mud” to avoid a “cataclysmic” defeat against former President Donald Trump.
A New York Times/Siena College poll found that Trump leads Biden in five out of six crucial swing states by substantial margins. Trump polls ahead of Biden in Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Michigan by at least 3 points, if not 10 in some cases. Wisconsin is the only other swing state in which Biden holds a slight lead within the margin of error over Trump.
Discussing the poll, Ignatius said he was unsure why Biden is doing so poorly in the poll despite MSNBC’s Jonathan Lemiere noting that voters are focusing on day-to-day issues like inflation. Ignatius argued the economy is doing “amazingly well.”
Ignatius said Biden needs to act quickly to reinvigorate a sense of enthusiasm. (RELATED: ABC’s Jon Karl Says Trump Is Leading In Swing States Because Voters Have ‘Not Been Paying Attention’)
“Otherwise, I fear, we’re really heading toward what I fear will be a cataclysmic election next year, and it will be — one final thought, one of the most negative campaigns I expect, that we’ve ever seen in our lifetimes. Just, you know, slinging more mud in both directions. It’s really Biden’s best hope is to — is to — is to — is to be so negative, so hard on Trump, that — that he — that enough of it sticks that he manages to squeak through. So I think we’re going to have unprecedented evidence of pretty nasty campaign season.”
Trump is also edging ahead in several swing states according to a Bloomberg News and Morning Consult poll. Trump leads Biden in an average of 47% to 43% in Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Biden is also seeing a decline amongst black and Hispanic voters, according to the New York Times/Siena College poll.