‘Unpleasant, unpopular’: Shock poll for Biden, Trump
A major new poll has been released which will be an eye opener for the Biden campaign team as the Democrats seem unable to know what to do.
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An extraordinary poll in the US has shown Joe Biden actually gaining ground on Donald Trump despite his derisory performance in the presidential debate.
Mr Biden now leads Mr Trump 50 per cent to 48 per cent according to a survey by US public broadcasters NPR and PBS.
But the same poll found six in 10 people now expect Mr Trump to win the November election.
And that the election race was an “unpleasant” race between “unpopular” candidates.
It comes as calls grow for Mr Biden to back out of the race for the White House amid fears he isn’t mentally up to the task. And donors are holding back $132 million in campaign funds.
It has also emerged that former President Barack Obama and ex-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, two of the most powerful figures in the Democratic Party, spoke privately earlier this week to discuss Mr Biden’s election prospects.
Relief, despite gaffes
On Thursday, Mr Biden held what was billed as a make or break press conference where he would have to answer, unscripted, questions from the media.
He neither made it nor really broke it.
One unnamed senior official told CNN after the press conference he showed substance and personality on stage, which he missed during last month’s debate with Mr Trump.
A second official said the team was “relieved”, while a senior Democrat said it was “better but not a home run”.
The Biden team, however, could have done without two embarrassing gaffes. One occurred several hours before the press conference where he introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin,” the Russian leader who invaded Ukraine.
And then in the press conference itself he referred to Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump”.
Poll a statistical tie
The NPR/PBS poll by Marist found the Presidential race remains within the margin of error and is a statistical tie even though for the last fortnight the focus has been almost solely on Mr Biden’s woes.
While Mr Biden now leads Mr Trump, when third party candidates are factored in Mr Trump holds a lead by 43 per cent to 42 per cent.
The poll also found no other Democrat polls as well as Mr Biden.
However, US elections are usually won in swing states where national numbers are less important and this survey did not look at those.
The majority of those surveyed said they had a negative opinion of both candidates.
“This is an unpleasant rematch with two unpopular people,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, “but Biden gets points for honesty and character. As a result, there’s a lot of cancelling out”.
The poll found that almost two thirds of the 1309 people surveyed thought Mr Biden does not have the mental fitness to serve as President.
Yet 68 per cent said it was more concerning if a President didn’t tell the truth, which Mr Trump has been accused of. While only 32 per cent said age was a concern in a president.
More people thought Mr Biden had the character to serve as president than Mr Trump.
“I beat (Mr Trump) once and I will beat him again,” Mr Biden said during the press conference of his plans to remain in the election race.
He said Mr Trump in the White House would be a “disaster”.
He also denied that he now goes to bed at 8pm, as was reported this week.
“What I said was, instead of my every day starting at seven and going to bed at midnight, it would be smarter for me to pace myself a little more.
“Instead of starting a fundraiser at nine, start it at 8 and people go home by 10”.
Asked whether he would step aside if he was presented with data showing Ms Harris would fare better against Mr Trump.
“No, unless they came back and said there’s no way you can win,” he said.
“No one is saying that. No poll is saying that”.
‘Wasn’t a total diaster’: Trump
Mr Trump shared a number of clips from the press conference on social media, poking fun at Mr Biden’s “Vice President Trump gaffe”.
“Great job, Joe!” the former President wrote
On Friday, US time, Mr Trump said he didn’t think the press conference was “stellar,” by Mr Biden.
“But it wasn’t a total disaster,” he said on a radio show.
“It’s not the end for him”.
Obama call
It has emerged the Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi were in contact last week regarding Mr Biden.
They are reported to have discussed the difficulty Mr Biden now has in beating Mr Trump, but neither is sure what to do, sources told CNN.
Democrats are said to be desperate for the two Democrat heavyweights to end the party’s turmoil one way or another.
“They are watching and waiting for President Biden to reach a decision on his own,” a long time Democrat close to Obama, Pelosi and Biden told CNN.
The New York Times reported on Friday, US time, that Democratic donors are holding off donating funds.
The pro-Biden fundraising organisation, Future Forward, said it hadn’t received $133 million ($US90m) it had been expecting to the campaign as nervous supporters kept their wallets closed.
Following the press conference several more Democrats urged Mr Biden to drop out of the race.
Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called on Mr Biden to suspend his campaign moments after the press conference ended.
“Joe Biden’s record of public service is unrivalled,” the Connecticut Representative said in a statement posted to social media.
“His accomplishments are immense. His legacy as a great President is secure. He must not risk that legacy, those accomplishments and American democracy to soldier on in the face of the horrors promised by Donald Trump.”
Originally published as ‘Unpleasant, unpopular’: Shock poll for Biden, Trump
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