Biden claims race is 'toss-up' in ABC interview. Here's what latest polls say.

President Joe Biden denied he was losing to Donald Trump on Friday, brushing off tough questions about his low approval ratings and bleak national polling during his prime-time interview with ABC News.

The embattled Democrat told interviewer George Stephanopoulos that “all the pollsters I talk to tell me it’s a toss-up,” and insisted he is not behind in popular polling and will defeat his Republican challenger in November.

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The dismissive attitude from the Biden camp is not new and has become a cornerstone of the campaign’s confidence messaging. Political polling can be more of an art than a science, and trust in its reliability has decreased in recent decades. However, Biden’s refusal to accept his low approval ratings provides insight into the president’s perspective as pressure on his campaign increases following the debate.

David Axelrod, best known as the chief strategist for Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns and White House senior advisor, acknowledged that Biden needs to recognize people’s valid concerns about his ability to win the White House a second time.

Stephanopolous, a former Clinton aide and longtime ABC News journalist, cited some of these numbers and polls in his interview. “I’ve never seen a president with 36 percent approval get reelected,” Stephanopoulos said at one point, leading Biden to respond, “I don’t believe that’s my approval rating. That’s not what our polls show.” Biden did not clarify what those polls are or where they place the president in the 2024 race.

Biden’s approval rating is between 36 and 37 percent among likely voters, according to a New York Times/Sienna poll released Monday and a Reuters/Ipsos poll from last Friday, respectively.

When it comes to polling of the Biden-Trump matchup, Biden is indeed behind. Numbers have also shifted slightly in Trump’s favor in the days following the first presidential debate. These latest figures include a Wednesday CBS poll giving Trump a 3-point edge in battleground states and a 2-point edge nationally. In an Ipsos poll released Tuesday, the pair are neck-and-neck among registered voters.

Kathryn Palmer is an elections fellow for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @KathrynPlmr.