Joe Biden was busy campaigning in Independence, Iowa, on the Fourth of July, and during his time he encountered a heckler that called him “Sleepy Joe” ?— one of the nicknames that President Donald Trump calls him. But the 76-year-old shut the supporter down after he asked the man to join him for a jog, to which the man declined.
Outside of this confrontation, The Hill reports that other Trump supporters were yelling out the president’s name on the parade route? that Biden was reportedly running around?, and one heckler asked Biden where his walker was. Regardless, others in the parade were cheering for Biden.
Biden’s performance at the Democratic presidential debates last week was generally poorly received. As The Inquisitr previously reported, the Real Clear Politics average of all polls shows Biden has seen about five points disappear from his lead since the debate. Not only that, but a new poll raises the same concerns for Biden.
Along with Biden, the same report shows that Bernie Sanders has lost more than two points and Pete Buttigieg has lost more than one.
“To be clear: Biden remains the leader in every recent poll,” wrote Vox polling analyst Andrew Prokop. “But the size of that lead on average is no longer as impressive as it’s been — and in a few polls, it’s gotten quite small indeed, raising questions about just how solid the frontrunner’s position is.”
“The big question for the race right now, though, is whether this post-debate slump is a temporary setback for Biden — or whether it’s the start of his campaign’s collapse.”
Joe Biden confronted by Iowa heckler calling him “Sleepy Joe” https://t.co/sUnxBsu6SJ pic.twitter.com/bWDnTrH28T
— The Hill (@thehill) July 4, 2019
Prokop highlights that there have long been doubts about Biden’s campaign, with some suggesting that he has grown out of touch with the Democratic electorate, which has been shifting leftward. Others point to his tendency for gaffes and his old age.
Adding to the doubts around Biden’s campaign is the increase in black voter support for Kamala Harris, who used the debate stage last week to criticize Biden’s past support of busing and his convenient newfound support for the Hyde Amendment. Black voters aren’t just key for Democratic candidates; they are especially important in South Carolina — the early primary state that makes up for more than 60 percent of the primary electorate. As of now, Quinnipiac shows that Harris is only 4 points behind Biden amongst black voters.
“The takeaway overall is that Biden remains a frontrunner, but a weak one,” Prokop wrote in his Vox piece.
