Donald Trump Isn't Joe Biden's 'Greatest Threat': Democratic Analyst

President Joe Biden's "greatest threat" in the 2024 election is not Donald Trump, according to a Democratic analyst.

"I don't think the greatest threat to Joe Biden is Donald Trump," Bakari Sellers, a CNN political analyst and former South Carolina state representative, said on CNN Newsroom. "These voters aren't going to jump over Joe Biden to vote for Donald Trump because of all of the things we know to be true about Donald Trump."

Sellers said that a bigger threat to Biden is if some voters stay home instead of voting in November.

"The problem with Joe Biden is he has to be able to go out and woo many of these voters who are somewhat uninspired, who are looking for cessation of fire in the war in Gaza. It's a number of issues motivating young voters, making sure that Black voters understand what your message is and how this is going to look going forward," Sellers added.

Newsweek reached out to Biden's campaign via email for comment.

The context:

Biden previously clinched the Democratic nomination in the 2024 presidential race, but he faced headwinds in some state's primaries, with voters opposed to his stance on the ongoing war in Gaza.

Last month, Biden faced issues in Michigan a swing state that he narrowly won in 2020 and that now shows increasing discontent among its significant Muslim population over his administration's support of Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza.

More than 100,000 Michigan primary voters cast ballots for "uncommitted" in protest.

What we know:

Polls between Biden and former President Trump, the presumptive Republican Party nominee, show the race to be tightly contested.

On Wednesday, Cameron Easley of Morning Consult shared an updated 2024 presidential tracking poll on X, formerly Twitter.

"Biden maintains his lead over Trump (he's +2 now)," Easley wrote in the post. "Perhaps more notably, he's tied with Trump among independents. It's the first time Trump hasn't led among these key voters since late November."

Views:

Heath Brown, an associate professor of public policy at City University of New York, told Newsweek earlier on Wednesday that the race between Trump and Biden is narrowing.

"These latest polls confirm that this campaign is very close and will likely remain that way for the foreseeable future," Brown said.

Last month, a poll from NPR/PBS/Marist, found Biden holding a 2 percentage point lead over the former president. According to the poll, 50 percent of respondents sided with Biden in the next election, compared to 48 percent who chose Trump.

What's next:

As Sellers noted on CNN, the war in Gaza is likely to remain a top issue in the next election. Many pro-Palestine voters have continued to urge Biden to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and Biden's relationship with Israel has remained tense in recent weeks.

Update 4/3/24, 12:05 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.

Update 4/3/24, 12:48 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.