Most voters believe that Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance on Thursday was not the result of a cold or overpreparation, but of dementia.
That is one of the most damning findings of an exclusive national poll conducted for DailyMail.com.
Only 10 percent of respondents accepted the White House excuse that a cold was to blame for the president’s difficulty answering questions or maintaining his train of thought during a 90-minute confrontation with Donald Trump.
At the same time, it turns out that the 78-year-old Trump has increased his lead over the 81-year-old Biden to six points, further deepening the crisis in the president’s re-election campaign.
The White House has already had to fend off questions about whether the president is “disabled,” a sign that Biden’s health has become central to the fight this week.
JL Partners surveyed 1,000 likely voters and asked them what they thought was the cause of Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance in Atlanta last week
With Biden under intense pressure to step aside, our polls show just how far those health concerns have gone.
About 52 percent of respondents said dementia was the cause, including 17 percent of Democrats and more than half of independents.
“The debate confirmed what voters feared about Biden, and then some,” said James Johnson, co-founder of JL Partners, which conducted the poll.
‘The finding that 52% of voters believe his poor performance was due to dementia is hugely significant: No one believes Biden’s personal excuses or those of his staff. This is something they see as systemic and a problem that is not going to go away.
‘Majority positions on political figures are not normal in American politics due to the high level of polarization. Biden’s health has overcome that: it is now a majority and unifying opinion that Biden is mentally unwell.’
The poll asked 1,000 likely voters their opinions from July 1 to 3. The results have a margin of error of 3.1 points.
They show Trump with his largest overall lead since DailyMail.com began tracking voter intentions. He has widened his lead by two points since our last poll in March, to six points, while Biden’s support is falling and Trump’s is holding steady.
And the results show how a troubled debate performance has moved the issue of dementia from the domain of right-wing TV presenters into the mainstream.
Biden’s halting performance, which sometimes included him pausing mid-sentence, led to calls to ditch him as the Democratic nominee.
Biden was leading Trump at this time last year, but has since seen the former president steal a lead. Trump now holds a six-point lead, according to our exclusive poll
Even Donald Trump seemed surprised by Biden’s weak performance during their first presidential debate in Atlanta, Georgia, last week
The pressure was further increased when former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it was now legitimate to ask whether his actions were an “episode” or a condition.
Biden’s allies and the White House continue to insist that he should not be defined by one “bad night” in June.
That led to remarkable scenes in the White House press room on Tuesday, when Karine Jean-Pierre was questioned about the debate.
“I think the American people need to be given a yes or no answer to this,” a reporter asked. “Does President Biden, at 81, have Alzheimer’s, some form of dementia or some degenerative disease that causes these kinds of deficiencies?”
Jean-Pierre replied, “It’s a no. And I hope you ask the other man exactly the same question.”
She also announced a busy period ahead, including an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos and a press conference next week, in which the president will show he has staying power.
Biden visited the DC Emergency Operations Center in Washington on Tuesday. The White House also announced that he will hold a press conference next week in an effort to fight back
Biden spoke out about his performance at a campaign rally a few hours later and apologized to donors.
“I decided to travel around the world a couple of times … shortly before the debate …,” he said. “I didn’t listen to my staff … and then I almost fell asleep on the podium.”
His campaign team has held a series of conversations with donors, staffers and party officials to limit the damage. Meanwhile, voices urging him to resign are growing, but they threaten to escalate into a flood.
This concern is a gift to the Trump campaign.
The former president kept a low profile and kept his announcement about his vice presidency under wraps while the focus was largely on Biden’s camp.
“This is a popcorn moment for us,” said one Trump World insider. “Why try to generate headlines when the other side is falling apart like this?”