Trump opens up lead on Biden after debate: Wall Street Journal poll

Former President Trump expanded his lead over President Biden to 6 points in a new poll of the presidential race from The Wall Street Journal published Wednesday amid the ongoing fallout from their debate last week.

Trump garnered 48 percent support in the poll to Biden’s 42 percent in a head-to-head match-up. That’s an increase from an identical poll in February, which found Trump with a 2-point lead.

Trump’s 48 percent vote share is the highest mark of either candidate at any point in the 2024 race, according to the Journal.

A notably weak debate performance from Biden in Atlanta on Thursday has raised questions among Democrats if the president should continue his campaign, with polls taken after the debate showing Trump making gains.

A sizable 80 percent of respondents — and 76 percent of Democrats — said Biden, 81 years old, is too old to be reelected. Two-thirds of respondents said they want him replaced by another Democratic candidate.

Vice President Harris has been a top target of Democrats who have called on Biden to bow out of the presidential race, though she has backed Biden publicly.

Nearly half, 47 percent, also said they want both Biden and Trump replaced by their respective parties, and 53 percent said they are not enthusiastic about either candidate.

When third-party candidates were included in the poll, Trump’s lead fell to 6 percent.

The Wall Street Journal poll surveyed about 1,500 registered voters between June 29 and July 2, with a margin of error of 2.5 percent.