Daily Mail’s devastating short poll reveals how many independent voters think Joe should drop out after disastrous debate with Trump… who won the night by 36 POINTS

An exclusive poll for DailyMail.com found that a clear majority of independent voters believe President Joe Biden should no longer be the Democratic nominee after a car crash debate with Donald Trump.

About 62 percent said he should be dumped from the ticket.

Biden looked all his 81 years Thursday evening as he repeatedly lost his train of thought and wandered off into the silence.

Trump, 78, was able to roll with punches as his Democratic opponent struggled to push back on some of his more outlandish claims.

JL Partners surveyed 805 independent voters immediately after the 90-minute clash and found that 68 percent said the former president had prevailed over his successor in the White House.

About 30 percent of people who voted for Biden in 2020 concluded that Trump won the debate.

The poor performance left senior Democratic figures wondering whether they could replace Biden.

The poll found that even among 2020 Biden voters, 41 percent said it was time to find a new candidate.

James Johnson, co-founder of JL Partners, said it was a disastrous performance for Biden with independents.

“Voters are not surprised by Biden’s performance: we know from other DailyMail.com polls that people expected him to perform poorly and think he is old and incompetent,” he said.

“But this was his chance to correct that perception and instead he confirmed it – and then some.”

Trump, he said, looked like a safe pair of hands unlike Biden.

“Where this is going to go now, nobody knows, but if you look at these numbers, it looks like Joe Biden cannot beat Donald Trump among independents,” he said.

“And if you can’t win the voters in the middle, you can’t win the White House.”

The online poll also provided an initial snapshot of how the debate will play a role in voting intentions.

About 40 percent said they planned to vote for Trump and 28 percent for Biden before the debate. Those numbers shifted to 44 percent choosing Trump and 24 percent choosing Biden after the debate, a shift of eight points.

Democrats reacted with shock to Biden’s weak showing, which immediately led to speculation that they might make a move to select another candidate.

Biden spoke in a hoarse voice and was sometimes difficult to hear.

He stopped midway through an early response, apparently losing his train of thought after confusing his words, and came to an awkward halt.

At other times he gave nonsensical answers, giving unclear responses on issues that should have been won, such as abortion rights.

Trump could therefore freely aim at an open target.

“I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence,” he said after Biden delivered a word salad about the border.

“I don’t think he knows what he said either.”

In doing so, he shifted the focus from convicted criminal Trump, who had to be asked three times whether he would accept the outcome of the 2024 elections, to Biden.

A string of high-profile liberals said it was time for him to step aside.

“Guys, the Democrats need to nominate somebody else — before it’s too late,” said Andrew Yang, who ran against Biden for the 2020 Democratic nomination.

Commentator Mehdi Hasan said he was a staunch defender of Biden.

“But no longer,” he said on X. “Not after the car crash of a “debate” tonight. It’s time for Biden to step aside. The Democrats need to find a new nominee.”

Vice President Kamala Harris defended Biden. She admitted he got off to a “slow start” but said voters should judge him on his years in office.

“I’m not going to spend all night talking to you about the last 90 minutes when I’ve been watching the performance for the last three and a half years,” she told CNN.