`(RightWing.org) – At first glance, President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin don’t seem to have much in common. After all, one is weak and visibly deteriorating, while the other is a brutal demagogue who’s ruthlessly focused on expanding his country’s power. It turns out they do share one thing, though –- young people don’t want to vote for them.
Last November, the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center (NORC) carried out a poll among Russian voters, and the results have just been released. NORC found that most age groups in Russia strongly support their aggressive president, who is almost certain to win the presidential election in March even if it’s run fairly, which it won’t be.
Among Russians aged 60 and over, an overwhelming 73% plan to vote for Putin, and support among 30 to 59-year-olds is also well over 60%. There’s only one group that’s less than enthusiastic about electing Putin for another six years –- the under-30s. Admittedly, even in this age group, 53% still want to vote for him, but that’s significantly lower than among older people.
President Biden should be able to sympathize with Putin on this, if maybe not on anything else. December polling shows that young voters are the least likely to approve of Biden’s record or to think he’s doing a good job in the Middle East war. Some polls show Trump with a 6% lead in the 18 to 29 age group.
This situation is a serious concern for Biden, as young voters backed him heavily in 2020. If they’re turning away from him and backing Trump instead, his chances of reelection fall dramatically.
Ironically, there might actually be another similarity between the current US and Russian presidents. Democrat prosecutors have charged Trump with a laundry list of offenses, meaning his campaign will be disrupted by court appearances, while judges in Colorado recently ruled that he can’t appear on the state’s primary ballot. Putin’s no stranger to using the law against his political opponents, either. His only serious opponent, Alexei Navalny, is currently being held in a prison colony.
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