Former US President Donald Trump exhibited a stronger performance compared to President Joe Biden in their latest presidential debate, marking a reversal from the opinions held during their 2020 encounters. The heated debate, lasting approximately 90 minutes, saw Biden, aged 81, and Trump, aged 78, engage in passionate exchanges on topics ranging from the economy and immigration to foreign policy, abortion, and national security. Both leaders exchanged accusations of dishonesty and criticized each other's presidential records.
According to a CNN flash poll conducted by SSRS, 67% of registered debate watchers felt that Trump delivered a more compelling performance, while 33% favored Biden. This result contrasts with pre-debate expectations, where 55% predicted Trump would outperform Biden, compared to 45% in favor of Biden.
It's important to note that the poll reflects the opinions of debate viewers exclusively, and may not fully represent the broader electorate in terms of demographics, political affiliations, or level of political engagement. The surveyed audience leaned slightly more towards Republican alignment by 5 points compared to the national average.
This shift marks a departure from perceptions in 2020, when Biden was generally viewed as having outperformed Trump in their debates, as reported by CNN. Thursday night's debate also underscored voter skepticism regarding leadership capabilities: 57% of viewers expressed little confidence in Biden's ability to lead the country, with 44% similarly doubting Trump's leadership. These figures remain largely unchanged from pre-debate polling, where 55% lacked confidence in Biden and 47% in Trump.
While only 36% of debate watchers expressed substantial confidence in Trump's leadership, a mere 14% voiced the same level of confidence in Biden's leadership abilities, according to the report.
The CNN poll, conducted via text message with 565 registered US voters who watched the debate, emphasizes that its findings are specific to debate viewers and may not reflect broader public opinion.
