Should Biden and Trump step aside after debate performance? What voters said in poll

A majority of Americans believe President Joe Biden should withdraw from the 2024 presidential race, while a smaller yet sizable share also believe former President Donald Trump should do the same, according to new polling.

The latest ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll asked respondents where they stand on both candidates following the first presidential debate in June, in which Biden’s halting speech drew concerns about his age and fitness.

Biden — who now faces growing calls to step aside from Democratic lawmakers — conceded he had a “bad night” at the debate, but remains committed to running against Trump.

The poll, conducted between July 5 and 9, sampled 2,431 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of 2.1 percentage points.

Should Biden or Trump withdraw?

Given Biden’s performance in the debate, 67% percent of respondents said he should withdraw from the race and allow someone else to run, while 30% said he should continue his campaign.

Meanwhile, 50% of respondents said Trump should pull out of the race given his debate performance, while 47% said he should stay running.

Democratic and Democratic-leaning respondents were then asked who should replace Biden as the nominee should he step aside.

While there was no consensus, Vice President Kamala Harris was the most popular choice by far, receiving 29% support.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom trailed far behind with 7%, and former first lady Michelle Obama came in third with 4%. Another July Ipsos poll found Michelle Obama was the only Democrat to beat Trump in a hypothetical general election match-up.

Seven-in-ten Democrats said they would be content to see Harris replace Biden as the Democratic nominee. However, when the question was posed to all respondents, less than half, 44%, said they would be satisfied, while 53% said they would be dissatisfied.

Age, fitness and character

A majority of respondents, 58%, said they believe both Biden, 81, and Trump, 78, are too old to serve another four years.

However, more than a quarter, 28%, said only Biden is too old, while just 2% said only Trump is too old. Meanwhile, 11% said neither candidate is too old.

Just 13% of respondents said the statement “he is in good enough physical health to serve effectively” applied more to Biden than Trump. Forty-four percent said the statement applied more to Trump, and 43% said it applied to neither.

Similarly, 14% of respondents said the statement “he has the mental sharpness it takes to serve effectively as president” applied more to Biden than Trump. Forty-four percent said it was more applicable to Trump, and 41% said it didn’t apply to either candidate.

Biden, meanwhile, scored better than Trump when it came to his values and character.

Thirty-nine percent of respondents said the statement “he is honest and trustworthy” applied more to Biden, while 22% said it was more applicable to Trump.

Further, 41% of respondents said the statement “he’ll protect American democracy” applied more to Biden, while 35% said it applied more to Trump.

Job performance and favorability

Despite the many calls for Biden to withdraw from the race, opinions on his favorability and job performance have not changed since the debate. The same is true for Trump, the poll found.

Asked whom they would vote for if the election were held today, 46% of registered voter respondents selected Biden and 46% selected Trump. Among all respondents, the race is also tied.

Thirty-six percent of respondents said they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, down 1 percentage point from April.

Similarly, 43% of respondents said they approved of the way Trump handled his four years in office, also down 1 percentage point from April.

Forty-two percent of respondents said they are favorable to Biden, up two points from April. And 34% of respondents said they are favorable to Trump, a one-point increase since April.

What next?

In the days since the June 27 presidential debate, Biden has faced a barrage of calls to exit the race, including from the media, donors and elected officials in his party.

But, in a July 5 taped ABC News interview, he reiterated that, while he performed poorly in the debate, he would not bow out of the race.

“I mean if the lord almighty came down and said ‘Joe, get out of the race,’ I’d get out of the race,” the president said. “The lord almighty’s not coming down.”

Biden also sent a letter to Congressional Democrats on July 8, asking them to unite behind him as the nominee.

“The question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now,” the letter said. “And it’s time for it to end. We have one job. And that is to beat Donald Trump.”

However, his unifying efforts have not proven entirely successful. At least nine Democratic lawmakers have now publicly called on Biden to leave the race as of July 11, according to The Hill, including several over the past three days.

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, in a July 10 interview with MSNBC, encouraged Biden to make a decision “because time is running short,” despite the fact that Biden has already said he is running.

Meanwhile, Trump, in the days leading up the Republican National Convention, is under no such pressure.

While half of respondents in the poll said he should withdraw from the race, Trump, unlike Biden, has not faced calls to step aside from elected Republican officials.

This story was originally published July 11, 2024 at 12:54 PM with the headline "Should Biden and Trump step aside after debate performance? What voters said in poll."