President Joe Biden's standing with young voters could doom his reelection hopes, according to a liberal pollster.
John Della Volpe, director of polling at the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School, was a pollster for Biden's presidential campaign in 2020.
In a New York Times opinion column Monday, Della Volpe expressed concern about Biden's popularity among voters in their 20s and 30s with the 2024 election a year away.
Della Volpe said Hamas' attack on Israel, and the Israelis' ensuing actions in Gaza, have resulted in young Americans engaging "with the political moment at a heightened intensity."
"[U]nless Gen Zers and millennials believe that Mr. Biden has their backs — and the backs of the Jewish and Palestinian people wherever they live — I fear enough young people won't back him," Della Volpe wrote in his column.
"Many may choose to take their politics offline instead or support an alternative who will do nothing more than open the door for Mr. Trump's return."
Della Volpe said that although young Americans "agree that Hamas committed war crimes in Israel," they also "want America to help both the Israeli and the Palestinian people."
"[Y]oung progressives remain unconvinced of their government's commitment to safeguarding the innocent," Della Volpe wrote. "If that continues, the winning Biden 2020 coalition is at greater risk of fracturing — and in the process, making Donald Trump's return to the White House more likely."
Della Volpe said many young voters are already actively entertaining the alternative, independent candidacies of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West.
Young voters are not the only demographic Biden should be concerned about.
New polls by The New York Times and Siena College show Trump ahead of Biden by an average of 48% to 44% in five of the six most important battleground states.
Biden's numbers suffered in the polls because of voters' doubts about his age, as well as their dissatisfaction over how he handles the economy and other major issues, the Times reported.
In his opinion column, Della Volpe appeared to be frustrated that young voters are not behind Biden.
"In 16 focus groups I've led recently, young voters told me they are more aware of society's chaos and conflicts than they are of what the president argues is a record of progress, millions of good jobs and a robust G.D.P.," Della Volpe wrote.
"Even as he has canceled $127 billion in student debt and made headway on the economy, climate, marijuana and gun safety goals, Mr. Biden finds himself playing more defense than offense with a demographic skeptical that he is doing enough to make their lives better or make the country a more just place."