Donald Trump Crushes Joe Biden In First Debate Polls
Donald Trump crushed Joe Biden in the first head-to-head 2024 presidential debate, according to a poll produced for CNN.
The survey of registered voters who watched the debate revealed that 67 percent believed that Trump performed better on Thursday evening in Atlanta, compared to 33 percent who thought the same about Biden.
The results from Thursday evening were not fully reflective of the whole voting public, and respondents were five points likelier to be Republican-aligned. The poll, by SSRS, was conducted by text message with 565 registered US voters who said they watched the debate.
Prior to the debate, a total of 55 percent of the same voters thought Trump would perform better, while 45 percent thought the same for Biden.
President Joe Biden, right, speaking during a presidential debate with Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, left, Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) Gerald Herbert/AP
The age of both Biden, 81, and Trump, 78, has been a major concern for voters, with a February poll from ABC News and IPSOS finding that 59 percent of voters believed both candidates were "too old" to be president.
Biden's struggled to quell those concerns during Thursday night's performance; the incumbent battling with a raspy voice, verbal gaffes, and several moments where he lost his train of thought.
Trump, meanwhile, appeared more alert throughout, claiming that he had cleared two cognitive tests that he did not believe Biden would be able to pass.
Fact-checkers from CNN found that Biden made at least nine false claims during the debate including using false numbers when describing two Medicare policies, claiming that no U.S troops have died on his watch, and claiming that the unemployment rate was 15 percent when he took office.
The same fact-checkers found that the former president made over 30 false claims throughout the night, including that the Biden administration supports abortions "after birth," that the Biden administration is planning to quadruple peoples taxes, and that Iran did not fund terror groups during his presidency.
When asked if he would commit to accepting the results of the 2024 election, Trump said he would if the election is "fair" and "legal." He said he did not accept the results of the 2020, further continuing to promote the lie that the 2020 election was stolen via widespread fraud, a claim which has been dismissed as baseless by a variety of judges, by the cyber security arm of the Homeland Security Department and by his own Attorney General William Barr.
Biden's poor performance in the debate marks a significant change from 2020, when a fiery Biden was seen to have outperformed Trump in both debates. The results have led to a "very aggressive panic" among Democrats including calls for the president to step aside before the election in November.
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