Biden Heckled at Event, Tells Advocate to “Sit Down”; KJP Cherry-Picks “92% Support” From NYT Poll Showing 64% of Democrats Want Someone Else

On 7/12/2022, Biden was heckled at a signing ceremony by the father of a high school student killed in a shooting — Biden first told him to “sit down” before encouraging him to continue. KJP cherry-picked a “92% of Democrats support this president” figure from the same NYT/Siena poll that showed 64% of Democrats wanted a different candidate in 2024, 63% said the country was on the wrong track, and Biden’s overall approval averaged just 37.7%. Even MSNBC reported the numbers as “abysmal,” with Democratic primary voters preferring “someone else” by a 40-point margin.

Biden Heckled, Says “Sit Down”

Biden was interrupted during a bill signing ceremony. “Make no mistake — sit down, you’ll hear what I have to say,” Biden said to a heckler. He then shifted tone: “Let him talk, let him talk.”

The heckler was identified as the father of a high school student killed in a shooting. Biden had met with him earlier that day. KJP confirmed: “The president met with him earlier today before the event” but said she was “not part of that meeting” and could not share details.

KJP Cherry-Picks “92%”

The NYT/Siena poll was devastating for Biden, but KJP found the one bright spot. “From that very same poll, 92 percent of Democrats support this president as well,” KJP said.

A reporter immediately followed up. “That same poll said 63 percent of Democrats believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. How do you explain that?”

“We understand what the American people are feeling. We understand that inflation is hurting families,” KJP said. “The president has been laser-focused on making sure we truly deal with inflation.”

“We’re not going to pay attention to polls,” KJP added.

37.7% — Worse Than Trump at Same Point

A CNN analyst put the numbers in devastating context. “If you average together everything that’s out there right now, Biden’s approval rating is about 37.7%. That disapproval rating is well over 50%,” the analyst said.

He compared Biden to predecessors at the same point in their midterm year:

Bush (2002): Still extremely popular post-9/11 — an outlier
Obama (2010): Under 50% — resulted in a 63-seat Republican gain, “a wipeout for Democrats”
Trump (2018): Well under 50%, closer to 40% — resulted in a 40-seat Democratic “blue wave”
Biden (2022): 37.7% — “six points lower even than Trump’s was at this point"

"Someone Else” by 40 Points

The most alarming finding for Democrats was the primary question. “When they asked Democratic primary voters whether the party should nominate Biden or someone else — ‘someone else’ beat Biden by an almost 40-point margin,” the analyst said.

“Of course, ‘someone else’ could be anyone else. They’re not matching Biden up against a particular name. There’s no consensus alternative that’s emerged,” the analyst noted. “But this does speak to a broad appetite within the Democratic Party to look for another option."

"Mr. Putin’s War”

KJP continued to blame inflation on Russia. “We got here with the increase of gas prices and food prices because of Mr. Putin’s war, and it has caused prices to go up,” KJP said.

She described the administration’s economic plan. “We have a strong economy. As we’re talking about inflation, our plan right now is to do that transition from the growth that we’ve seen to a more stable and steady growth,” KJP said.

Oil Companies Called to “Pass On Lower Costs”

KJP delivered a message to oil companies. “We continue to call on oil and gas companies to pass on their lower costs to consumers. American families should not be the first to pay and the last to benefit,” KJP said. “There are a number of reasons why we expect those high prices to ease over the coming months.”

Key Takeaways

Biden told a heckler — the father of a shooting victim — to “sit down” before encouraging him to speak.
KJP cherry-picked “92% of Democrats support Biden” from a poll showing 64% wanted a different 2024 candidate, 63% said the country was on the wrong track.
Biden’s polling average was 37.7% — six points lower than Trump at the same midterm point, when Democrats gained 40 seats.
Democratic primary voters preferred “someone else” over Biden by a 40-point margin.
KJP said “we’re not going to pay attention to polls” while continuing to blame inflation on “Mr. Putin’s war.”

Transcript Highlights

The following is transcribed from the video audio (unverified — AI-generated from audio).

Sit down, you’ll hear what I have to say. Let him talk, let him talk.
From that same poll, 92% of Democrats support this president. But 64% want a different candidate and 63% say wrong track.
Biden’s average is 37.7% — six points lower than Trump at this point. Trump’s midterm was a 40-seat blue wave.
Someone else beat Biden by an almost 40-point margin among Democratic primary voters.
We’re not going to pay attention to polls.
We got here because of Mr. Putin’s war. Our plan is the transition to stable and steady growth.

Full transcript: 1007 words transcribed via Whisper AI.