Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) shrugged off the results of President Joe Biden’s latest approval rating, which is lower than ever.
Pritzker appeared on This Week on Sunday to react to the most recent Ipsos/ABC poll that reported Biden’s approval rating is at 33%. As governor of Illinois, Pritzker took the interview while campaigning for the incumbent president in Iowa.
“Well, I will say I think your poll is a bit of an outlier, but here’s what I’ll tell you. This battle hasn’t even been joined yet,” Pritzker said. “So, I really believe that this hasn’t, you know, seen the day yet where you’ve got a true contrast between a Republican on one side and a Democrat on the other.”
Host Jonathan Karl pushed back on Pritzker, pointing to more data reporting that only 28% of respondents believed Biden has the mental sharpness to be an effective president. Meanwhile, despite their similarity in age, some 47% believe that Biden’s opponent, former President Donald Trump, 77, has the mental sharpness, and another 57% also believe that Trump is physically healthy enough for the job. Only 28% had the same to say of Biden’s physical health.
“Maybe we ought to start by just acknowledging that Joe Biden has years of experience, that when you talk about someone’s age, you’re also talking about the wisdom that they’ve gained over many years, and how they’ve demonstrated their empathy that they’ve learned from so many experiences,” Pritzker said. “Do you think Donald Trump has learned empathy in his life? He has not. Joe Biden has demonstrated it at every turn.”
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This same poll showed that among Republican-leaning respondents, Trump was found to be the most empathetic, with 46% reporting Trump best understood their problems.
Biden, 81, is the oldest sitting president. If he wins, he will be 86 at the end of his second term. Biden’s Democratic challengers are Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), author Marianne Williamson, and YouTube news anchor Cenk Uygur.