Only 54% of likely voters believe former Vice President Joe Biden is up to the task of debating President Donald Trump.
A poll released Tuesday by Rasmussen Reports said that in a national survey of 1000 likely voters, just over half thought that Biden, the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee, could handle a debate against his incumbent opponent. (RELATED: A Majority Of Fellow Government Employees Want Comey Prosecuted For Leaking To Media, Says Poll)
Only 54% Think #Biden Capable of Debating #Trump… https://t.co/MI4kbDd0Kb #BreakingPoll pic.twitter.com/9bsb6APSeG
— Rasmussen Reports (@Rasmussen_Poll) July 14, 2020
Respondents were asked the following three questions between July 9 and July 12:
- How important is it for Joe Biden and Donald Trump to hold one or more televised presidential debates this fall?
- Is Joe Biden capable of debating Donald Trump?
- Would it help or hurt Biden’s candidacy % He refused to debate Trump? Or would it have no impact?
According to the poll, 68% said that holding at least one televised debate was important — 51% said that it was “very important.”
In addition to the 54% who said they thought Biden was capable of performing on the debate stage, 38% believed him incapable and 11% were unsure.
New York Times opinion columnist Thomas L. Friedman warned last week that Biden should not consent to debating Trump unless he released his tax returns and there was an independent real-time fact checker.
The Left is terrified of Joe Biden coming out of his basement to debate @realDonaldTrump.
But if Biden cannot debate, he has no business even running for President. Period! https://t.co/oEedbl4dwJ
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) July 9, 2020
But according to the Rasmussen poll, 56% of respondents believe that refusing to debate would hurt Biden’s campaign. Just under 10 % believe that bowing out of debates would help Biden, and 29% say that it would have no impact on the election’s outcome.