Biden drawing more Twitter engagement than Trump for first time this year

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden started drawing more engagement on his Twitter posts than President Trump for the first time this year, according to data reported Tuesday. 

Data from media intelligence company Conviva found the former vice president inched above Trump in engagement per post on Twitter this past month, Axios reported. 

Biden has steadily been increasing in the monthly averages of engagements per post, average engagements per video and follower adds since the beginning of the year, according to Axios. This past month the Democrat passed the president in all three metrics. 

Conviva’s data on engagement only includes retweets and likes, not quote tweets, according to Axios.

The president’s following on Twitter is still far larger than Biden’s, at 87.3 million compared to Biden’s 11.2 million. 

Biden also drew a larger audience than Trump during last week’s dueling town halls. Biden’s 90-minute event on ABC News garnered 14.1 million viewers, compared with 13.5 million for Trump’s 60-minute town hall which aired on NBC, MSNBC and CNBC. 

With just two weeks to Election Day, national polls have shown Biden leading Trump.

In some crucial battleground states including North Carolina and Florida, Biden and Trump are running a tight race. However, recent polls have shown the former vice president beating the incumbent in other battleground states including Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. 

The candidates are set to face off Thursday during the second presidential debate.