Republican front-runner and former President Donald Trump leads President Joe Biden by 1 point in a head-to-head survey of likely voters, according to a new CBS News poll released Sunday.
Amid a shaky economy and uncertainty if Biden would actually make it through a second term as president, Trump leads Biden 50% to 49%, according to the poll results.
Trump is the overwhelming favorite for those who say their finances are worse now than before the COVID-19 pandemic, with 71% saying Trump is their choice. Only 28% who think they're worse off would vote for Biden.
A whopping 97% of those surveyed said they would vote for Trump because things were better under his first administration.
The economy question of the survey closely mirrors the USA Today poll from last week, which found that 47% trust Trump to fix the economy vs. 36% for Biden.
On the basis of health, only 34% of those surveyed in the CBS News poll believe Biden, who is 80, would finish a second term, compared to 55% for Trump.
Further, 55% believe Trump is physically fit to serve as president compared to just 28% for Biden. Nearly one-third surveyed said neither candidate is physically healthy enough.
Cognitively, just 33% think Biden is mentally fit to serve a second term, compared to 51% for Trump. Nearly one-quarter (23%) of respondents said neither is mentally fit to serve.
The White House on Friday tried to brush off the growing sentiment of Americans who say that Biden is too old to serve. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre quipped that “80 is the new 40” during the last White House press briefing of the week.
"When it comes to Americans, what they're saying about your particular question to me, that's for them to speak to," Jean-Pierre said then.
Those surveyed see Biden as calm, predictable, tolerant, and caring. The same respondents said Trump’s leadership style is provocative, tough, energetic, no-nonsense and entertaining.
But the fact that the 2024 general election is veering toward Trump-Biden 2.0 doesn’t sit well with respondents: 64% said a rematch is indicative that the political system is broken. Only 8% of those surveyed said the pair are the best candidates.
As the standard-bearer for his party, Biden isn’t reaping benefits on that front either, as 46% said the Democratic Party has gone too far on racial diversity and equality. Further, 48% of respondents said too much attention is paid to politically correct people by Democrats. Independents who think Dems have gone too far are voting for Trump 8 to 1, according to the survey.
Despite the 2022 midterms swinging in Democrats’ favor in part over the fall of Roe v. Wade, this poll does not bear that out. Just 37% said their views on abortion would make them vote for Democrats in 2024, with 34% saying abortion is not a factor.
This CBS News/YouGov survey surveyed 4,002 U.S. adult residents between Sept. 12-15. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.1 points.
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Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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