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A new poll from CBS News shows that Donald Trump has taken a slight lead over President Joe Biden. The former president slightly trailed Biden last month.
The poll comes after Biden’s lackluster debate performance against Trump in Atlanta, which sent Democrats into a panic. Some Democrats have even speculated that Biden might need to be replaced.
CBS News surveyed 2,826 registered voters between in the days after the debate between June 28 and July 2, with a margin of error of 2.3 points.
The poll showed that 51 per cent of voters would pick Trump compared to 48 percent of voters who would pick Biden. The numbers are a reversal from last month, when 50 percent of voters said that they would pick Biden and 49 percent said they would pick Trump. That poll came days after a jury in New York found the former president guilty on 34 criminal charges of falsifying business records as part of a conspiracy to corruptly influence the 2016 election results.
Trump led Biden 51 to 48 percent in battleground states in the latest poll, including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Biden’s hoarse voice, nonsensical statements and his constantly interrupting himself raised questions about his mental acuity, though the White House denied that Biden had dementia at a tense press conference this week.
But the recent survey showed voters had serious concerns about Biden’s age and capacity to serve as president, as 69 percent of voters said that Biden’s age is a factor in their vote. Meanwhile, only 48 percent of registered voters said that Trump’s age is a factor for them.
In addition, 69 percent of voters said Biden should not be running and 53 percent of voters said that the debate made them think worse of Biden. By comparison, 27 percent of voters said that the debate made them think worse of Trump but 48 percent said it did not make change their opinion of Trump at all.
The poll is just the latest hurdle that Biden faces as he and his campaign team attempt to convince not only voters but other Democrats that he has the capacity to run for a second term for president. If he did win a second term, he would be 82 years old on Inauguration Day.
