Joe Biden Handed Triple Polling Blow Before Debate

US President Joe Biden hosts an event marking the 12th anniversary of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) at the White House in Washington, DC, on June 18, 2024. Biden is set to face off against Donald Trump int he first of the 2024 live televised debates.

President Joe Biden has been stung by three separate polls ahead of the first 2024 televised presidential debate with former President Donald Trump.

Biden and Trump are set to face off in the debate at CNN's studios in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday night. Each candidate will be hoping to gain any advantage they can over each other with just over four months of campaigning to go in the neck-and-neck race.

Ahead of the debate, three surveys showed that Biden is losing to Trump in the latest worrying sign for the president's reelection hopes in November.

On Wednesday, a Quinnipiac University national poll of 1,405 self-identified registered voters showed that Trump has a four-point lead over Biden (49 percent to 45 percent) in a direct 2024 matchup.

When the survey is expanded to include third-party and independent White House hopefuls, Trump expanded his lead to six points (43 percent to 37 percent).

Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. received 11 percent support, Green Party candidate Jill Stein and independent candidate Cornel West both received 2 percent, while Libertarian Party candidate Chase Oliver received 1 percent.

The Quinnipiac poll showed that 73 percent of voters said it is likely they will watch the debate on Thursday, while 25 percent said they will likely miss it.

A total of 16 percent of those who are backing a candidate said they are open to switching depending on debate performance. When broken down, 13 percent of Biden supporters and 12 percent of Trump supporters said they were open to the possibility of changing their choice.

Potentially more crucial, nearly one-third (32 percent) of voters supporting Kennedy—who did not qualify for the CNN debate—say they are open to changing their vote.

"A change of heart or a dramatic shift in loyalty when the lights fade on the first debate? Not likely when it comes to Biden and Trump supporters, but those currently supporting RFK Jr. are a different story," Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy said.

Carl Cavalli, a professor of political science at the University of North Georgia, said Biden should be able to "exceed" the low expectations of him on Thursday, given Trump and his supporters have spent months suggesting the president is in cognitive decline or needs "drugs" to perform in the debate.

"We've already seen Trump and his team try to backtrack on this—now trying to suggest that Biden will be a formidable debate opponent," Cavalli told Newsweek. "After months of questioning the president's ability—which the Trump campaign and their SuperPACs are still doing in ads—this recent shift may be too little, too late."

Elsewhere, a New York Times/Siena College poll published Wednesday showed Trump is leading Biden by four points (48 percent to 44 percent) among likely voters, and six points in a poll of 1,226 registered voters (48 percent to 42 percent).

The poll suggests Biden is still struggling to shake off issues that voters are not enthusiastic about his reelection bid, nor concerns about his age as he seeks a second term.

About 70 percent of voters believed the 81-year-old Biden is too old to be president again. In comparison, only 40 percent feel the same about the 78-year-old Trump.

"He's done good things in the past, but he's too old," Philip Hopkins, a 78-year-old Democrat living in the swing state of Arizona, told The Times regarding the president. "That age thing, that could cost us our freedom. It could cost us the destruction of our country."

A Wednesday poll from McLaughlin & Associates, considered one of the least reliable polling companies by fivethirtyeight, showed Trump with a two-point lead over Biden (46 percent to 44 percent).

Newsweek contacted Biden's team for comment via email.

Start your unlimited Newsweek trial