Post-debate poll: Nearly 3 in 4 voters don't think Biden should be running the presidential race

U.S. President Joe Biden gestures as he walks from Marine One to Air Force One with first lady Jill Biden and granddaughters Natalie Biden (not pictured) and Finnegan Biden, in Burlington County, New Jersey, U.S., June 29, 2024.

The US election brouhaha is raging like wildfire for possibly all contentious and questionable reasons this year. With each event coming to light, voters’ decisions get drastically swayed, and so they have again with the first official debate pitting the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates - President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, each vying for another term at the White House.

Even months before the debate kicked off, Americans excessively questioned each presidential nominee’s cognitive health and if it would be enough for them to effectively serve as the country's next president following the November election. However, the picture has only gotten hazier. While each side of the conversion roars about their preferred leader itching closer to the winning line, recent post-debate polls recall that if Biden wasn’t the winner of the CNN debate, neither was Trump.

Biden vs Trump: Who should be in the running for the presidential race? Who has the mental/cognitive health to serve?

A relatively Biden-focussed CBS News/YouGov survey, based on a national sample of 1,130 registered voters, showed that an increasing number of voters bowed out of supporting Biden after the first debate. While 72% of voters claimed that Biden does not have the mental and cognitive health to serve as president, Trump only had 50% of them believing that he has it to serve.

Also read | Nikki Haley warns Trump about potential ‘younger' and ‘vibrant’ Biden replacement

Moreover, the situation looked grimmer for Biden compared to a previous higher percentage (37%) of people voting that he should be running for president in February. Nearly three in four (72%) of registered voters no longer think that he should be in the running.

In addition to worrying about his age, voters also drew focus on his campaigning and effectiveness in office as other red flags why he shouldn’t run. Even Democratic numbers initially supporting him dwindled after the Trump debate. Although 64% of Democratic registered voters said he should be running for president in February, that number slipped to 54% after the debate.

When asked why Biden shouldn’t be running, the registered voters’ top answers included his age (86%), the decision he might make in office (71%), his record as president (66%), and his ability to campaign effectively (59%).

According to CBS News, although voters overall held on to the idea that Trump wasn’t truthful during the debate, the majority of Republicans still agreed with him running in the presidential race. Voters also affirmed that he presented his ideas more clearly, exuded more confidence, and appeared more presidential than his Democratic counterpart. But, again, that’s a relative comparison because neither candidate sat well with a significant number of voters.

47% of voters said that Trump presented his ideas more clearly, compared to only 21% who answered Biden for the question. Similarly, 46% claimed that Trump appeared presidential, while 28% picked Biden. Moreover, 43% of registered voters stated that Trump explained plans and policies better. On the contrary, only 35% chose Biden in this arena. The sitting president hit an even more consequential low in inspiring confidence, as only 18% of voters thought he achieved that.

On the flip side, Biden appeared more truthful than Trump. However, the percentage gap wasn’t as vast as perceived. While 40% of voters agreed with Biden telling the truth at the debate, 32% said Trump did.

More importantly, 48% of voters assumed that democracy and law would be safe if Biden won, witnessing a 1% difference from those believing it would be intact if Trump did (47%).

After the debate, 45% of Democratic voters said Biden should step away from his reelection campaign and give another feasible candidate a chance to run for president. The rising number of people thinking Biden no longer has the cognitive health to serve was found to be proportional to those saying he shouldn't be the nominee. Nearly a month ago, 71% of Democratic voters claimed that he has the mental health to serve, but that number has gone down to 59% after the debate.

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