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A damning new poll has revealed that two-thirds of American voters, and a majority of the president’s own supporters, now believe Joe Biden should drop out of the race for the White House.
Biden, 81, has spent the last two weeks firefighting panic within his own party after his dire performance in the first presidential debate against Donald Trump in which he appeared frail and confused.
Since then, calls have been growing – including from House and Senate Democrats – for Biden to step aside and allow a younger Democrat take up the mantle as the party’s 2024 nominee.
Now, a new poll from ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos finds that a majority of Americans (67 per cent) think Biden should exit the race.
Among self-declared Biden supporters specifically, 54 per cent think he should step aside.
Should the president do so – something he has repeatedly insisted he has no plans to do – just 44 per cent of American voters would be satisfied with Vice President Kamala Harris being named as his replacement on the ticket.
However, this rises to 76 per cent among Biden supporters and 70 per cent among Democrats or left-leaning independents.
Overall, the poll finds that Trump would beat Biden in a close race of 47 per cent to 46 per cent of the vote if the election was held today.
Replacing Biden with Harris as the Democratic nominee would see Harris beat Trump with 49 per cent to 46 per cent of the vote.
When asked about the significance of the two current contenders’ ages, a resounding 85 per cent of Americans believe that Biden is too old to serve again while 60 per cent think the same of Trump – who, at 78, is just three years younger than his rival.
The poll shows that age has become a bigger issue to voters over the last year, with 68 per cent saying Biden is too old and 44 per cent Trump just last May.
On the two candidates’ personal favorability, 42 per cent of voters approve of Biden while 50 per cent disapprove. The poll found a larger swing when it comes to Trump, with 34 per cent approving of his character and 59 per cent taking exception.
Regardless of personal opinion on the candidates, a resounding 74 per cent of Americans who watched the debate think that Trump – who uttered at least 30 falsehoods throughout – won.
The concerning poll results come at a time when the pressure for Biden to step aside shows so sign of abating.
To date, at least 15 serving Democratic lawmakers, several party donors, veteran strategists, activists and even Hollywood star George Clooney have called on him to quit the race.
A proposal for a “blitz primary” has also been doing the rounds and gaining traction. This plan allows new contenders, like state governors Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer, Wes Moore and JB Pritzker or other Democratic luminaries, to enter the race and run mini-campaigns ahead of the party’s August convention.
