Former President Donald Trump's lead over President Joe Biden has increased by 3 percentage points following the president's disastrous debate performance last week, according to a new poll from the New York Times and Siena College.
Trump leads, 49% to 43%, the largest lead recorded by the presumptive Republican nominee in a Times/Siena poll since 2015. Trump leads by even more among registered voters, 49% to 41%.
The poll, conducted among 1,532 registered voters from June 28 to July 2, was published less than a week after Biden and Trump sparred in their first debate ahead of the November election.
Biden's debate performance has reverberated across the Democratic Party, forcing lawmakers to grapple with a crisis that could upend the presidential election and change the course of American history.
The Democrat president has signaled he's trying to stay in the race against Trump despite the halting and uneven debate delivery that threw a spotlight on questions about Biden's age and capacity to be president. But as Democrats make the case the stakes of the election are momentous — challenging no less than the foundations of American democracy — they're wrestling with what to do about the 81-year-old who's supposed to be leading the charge for their party.
The poll also found that 60% of registered voters said there should be a different Democratic nominee for president, compared with 31% who said it should be Biden.
Additionally, 51% said there should be a different Republican nominee, compared with 42% who say it should be Trump.
The poll's margin of sampling error among registered voters is plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.