President Joe Biden’s performance in the first presidential debate is fueling well-documented concerns about his fitness for office, but a new poll suggests the face-off with former President Donald Trump isn’t significantly changing voters’ minds in a dead heat race. 538 and Ipsos polled the same likely voters both before and after the debate. The survey found Trump was the clear winner, with 60 percent saying he had a better night compared to 21 percent who felt Biden had a superior performance. Notably, the portion of voters who said they’re considering supporting Trump at the ballot box didn’t budge post-debate. Neither did either candidate’s unfavorable ratings, both ranging around 59 percent both before and after the contest.”Ultimately, Trump did not gain voters. If anything, Biden weakened his base. He perhaps, on the margins, lost voters,” said Ipsos Polling president Clifford Young. “It really was a debate that Biden lost, and Trump didn’t win, but he held steady.”The poll also found that third-party candidates, including Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Libertarian Chase Oliver, gained more ground than Trump, despite not being on the debate stage. It’s a potential sign that the face-off influenced some voters to shop for an alternative, although those increases were within the poll’s margin of error and third-party candidates are still trailing both Trump and Biden significantly. “It’s a wait-and-see moment, and we have to wait a few weeks, at the very least, to see if there is an impact,” Young added. In the meantime, Democrats are doing damage control as the campaign tries to tamp down talks of replacing Biden at the top of the ticket. “I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to,” Biden conceded Friday at his first campaign rally post-debate. “I know how to get things done, and I know, like millions of Americans know, when you get knocked down, you get back up!”Democrats on Capitol Hill also came to Biden’s defense on Friday. Asked about his message to Democrats who think Biden should quit after the debate, Rep. Jim Clyburn told reporters, “Stay the course. Chill out.” During an event in Las Vegas on Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris said, “Character matters more than style, and Donald Trump does not have the character to be President of the United States.”Former President Donald Trump and his allies argue that the election is about competence.”It is not his age; it is his competence. He is not respected anywhere. He is being laughed at all over the world,” Trump said while rallying in Virginia on Friday.
President Joe Biden’s performance in the first presidential debate is fueling well-documented concerns about his fitness for office, but a new poll suggests the face-off with former President Donald Trump isn’t significantly changing voters’ minds in a dead heat race.
538 and Ipsos polled the same likely voters both before and after the debate. The survey found Trump was the clear winner, with 60 percent saying he had a better night compared to 21 percent who felt Biden had a superior performance.
Notably, the portion of voters who said they’re considering supporting Trump at the ballot box didn’t budge post-debate. Neither did either candidate’s unfavorable ratings, both ranging around 59 percent both before and after the contest.
“Ultimately, Trump did not gain voters. If anything, Biden weakened his base. He perhaps, on the margins, lost voters,” said Ipsos Polling president Clifford Young. “It really was a debate that Biden lost, and Trump didn’t win, but he held steady.”
The poll also found that third-party candidates, including Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Libertarian Chase Oliver, gained more ground than Trump, despite not being on the debate stage.
It’s a potential sign that the face-off influenced some voters to shop for an alternative, although those increases were within the poll’s margin of error and third-party candidates are still trailing both Trump and Biden significantly.
“It’s a wait-and-see moment, and we have to wait a few weeks, at the very least, to see if there is an impact,” Young added.
In the meantime, Democrats are doing damage control as the campaign tries to tamp down talks of replacing Biden at the top of the ticket.
“I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to,” Biden conceded Friday at his first campaign rally post-debate. “I know how to get things done, and I know, like millions of Americans know, when you get knocked down, you get back up!”
Democrats on Capitol Hill also came to Biden’s defense on Friday.
Asked about his message to Democrats who think Biden should quit after the debate, Rep. Jim Clyburn told reporters, “Stay the course. Chill out.”
During an event in Las Vegas on Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris said, “Character matters more than style, and Donald Trump does not have the character to be President of the United States.”
Former President Donald Trump and his allies argue that the election is about competence.
“It is not his age; it is his competence. He is not respected anywhere. He is being laughed at all over the world,” Trump said while rallying in Virginia on Friday.
