A majority of voters want President Joe Biden to replace the Democratic nominee following his performance in Thursday night's debate, according to a Morning Consult poll released Friday.
After the first presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle, Biden's performance left many leading Democrats scrambling to soften the blow. Damage controlThe survey found that 60% of voters and 47% of Democrats said Biden should be removed from the Democratic nomination. vote. (Related: 'It's the worst': Ex-President Obama aides in complete panic after Biden 'disastrous' debate)
Joy Reid says Democrats are 'panic-ing' over Biden's 'very weak' debate performance pic.twitter.com/gz8KG0dHpZ
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 28, 2024
According to the poll, 63% of voters who watched the debate said Biden should be replaced, and 50% of Democrats who watched the debate said they wanted Biden to step down, along with 62% of independents and 75% of Republicans who watched the debate.
This sentiment was echoed by the Democratic Party leadership. Within 35 minutes of the debate starting, they Democratic Party and Media Publications Calls for Biden to be replaced completely began to mount. (Related article: Joe Scarborough calls Biden's debate performance “the worst in modern politics.”)
The New York Times editorial board on Friday called on Biden to drop out of the race, arguing that other Democratic leaders are better suited to face off against former President Donald Trump in November.
With talk of replacing Biden entirely underway, 30% of Democrats believe Vice President Kamala Harris should be the new nominee, according to the poll, while 20% say California Governor Gavin Newsom should replace Biden, and 9% say Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg should take over.
Despite the rumors, Newsom has repeatedly downplayed questions about a possible run in 2024. After the debate, he dismissed questions about the possibility of Democrats running to replace Biden. interview With MSNBC.
“I would never turn my back on President Biden,” Newsom said. “I would never turn my back on President Biden, and I don't think there's any Democrat in my party that would do that.”
Many Democratic Party officials who had previously defended Biden's mental health since the debate are now avoiding any comment on the issue. Biden's mental health was clearly deteriorating for voters, especially after watching the debate.
According to the poll, before the debate, 43% of voters said Biden was in good mental health, while only 41% said they thought he was in good health. Among debate viewers overall, those numbers were even worse, with only 35% saying Biden was in good mental health and 28% saying he was in good health. (RELATED: 'Fasten your seat belts': Jill Biden's former press secretary says 'no chance' of replacing Biden despite conceding debate defeat)
The trend was reversed for Trump, with 47% of voters in the poll saying he was mentally healthy and 52% saying he was in good health. After the debate, those numbers jumped to 54% of viewers saying Trump was mentally healthy and 62% saying he was in good health.
The poll found that 64% of all voters said Biden is too old, and 78% of debate viewers said the same. For Trump, 42% of voters said he is too old, but only 45% of debate viewers agreed.
President Joe Biden's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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