Wednesday, July 03, 2024

VP Kamala Harris has a better chance of retaining White House than Joe Biden, says CNN poll

TAKE THAT RACIST MISOGYNISTS WHO HAVE DISMISSED HER

The approval rating of Biden, 81, has plummeted after his dismal debate performance in Atlanta last week against his predecessor Donald Trump


PTI Washington Published 03.07.24

Kamala HarrisFile Photo

Vice President Kamala Harris, who is of Indian and African heritage, has a better chance of retaining the White House in the November presidential polls than her boss President Joe Biden has, according to a latest CNN poll.

The approval rating of Biden, 81, has plummeted after his dismal debate performance in Atlanta last week against his predecessor Donald Trump.

Since the debate, there has been increasing voices in the ruling Democratic party for Biden to step down and let someone else run the race for the crucial November 5 presidential elections.

According to the CNN poll conducted by SRS, Trump is ahead of Biden by six points.

The poll also finds Harris within striking distance of Trump in a hypothetical matchup: 47 per cent of registered voters support Trump, 45 per cent Harris, a result within the margin of error that suggests there is no clear leader under such a scenario.

“Harris’ slightly stronger showing against Trump rests at least in part on broader support from women (50% of female voters back Harris over Trump vs. 44% for Biden against Trump) and independents (43% Harris vs. 34% Biden),” the polls said.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refrained to give a direct comment on the polls.

“I'm constrained to speaking directly to your poll and I get it and I hear the question. I got to be mindful, that is something for the campaign as you started saying, what the campaign has laid out their argument of the case. That is something for them to take up and that is something for them to answer,” she told reporters when asked about it.

“What I can speak to is the president's record. What I can speak to, what he's been able to accomplish and the things that he's been able to do and get done is actually in line with majority of Americans. And I think that's important too, to note. And again, I will say with age comes wisdom and experience and that's certainly something that the president brings,” she said.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama leads Trump by a whopping 11 points in an Ipsos poll—50 per cent to 39 per cent — though her office told NBC News in March she would not be running for president this year.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.

Veteran Democrat calls for Biden to stand aside, as poll shows Harris now more popular



By Farrah Tomazin
July 3, 2024 —

Washington: The White House is resisting calls to release medical reports detailing President Joe Biden’s mental and physical health as the fallout over his devastating debate against Donald Trump continues.

Five days since Biden’s confused and incoherent performance sparked fresh questions over his fitness for office, Democratic state governors were holding crisis talks, and party elders and officials were still scrambling to defend the president.


US President Joe Biden at the DC Emergency Operations in Washington on Tuesday.CREDIT:BLOOMBERG

A CNN poll conducted after the debate found most Americans believe the Democrats would have a better chance of beating Trump with someone else at the top of the ticket.

In another blow to America’s 81-year-old president, veteran Texas politician Lloyd Doggett on Tuesday became the first Democrat in the US Congress to publicly call for Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race


“My decision to make these strong reservations public is not done lightly nor does it in any way diminish my respect for all that President Biden has achieved,” said Doggett, who is the second-highest ranking Democrat in the powerful House and Ways Committee.

“Recognising that, unlike Trump, President Biden’s first commitment has always been to our country, not himself, I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw. I respectfully call on him to do so.”

Five months out from the election, the Trump campaign is gaining momentum, emboldened not only by the debate but also this week by the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling, which has shielded the twice-impeached Republican from prosecution over acts he took as president.

The White House, on the other hand, has been in damage control and spent its first press briefing since the debate fielding questions about Biden’s ability to do his job, including whether he is senile or suffering from a degenerative condition.

“It’s a no, and I hope you’re asking the other guy the same question,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, in reference to Trump, who is 78 and also one of the oldest candidates to run for office.

Similar comments were also made by former house speaker Nancy Pelosi, who told MSNBC it was legitimate to ask if Biden’s debate performance was “an episode” or “a condition”.


March 2022: Biden delivers his State of the Union address, as Vice President Kamala Harris (left) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi applaud.CREDIT:AP

However, Pelosi, who is 84, added: “When people ask that question, it’s completely legitimate – of both candidates.”

Asked if the White House would be prepared to release more fulsome reports on Biden’s health, Jean-Pierre said the president had already released the results of his annual medical examinations.

The latest examination took place in February and in a five-page memo released at the time, Biden’s longstanding physician, Kevin O’Connor, declared that there were “no new concerns” since the president’s previous physical checkup in February 2023.

The medical team had assessed Biden’s stiff gait, sleep apnoea and a root canal, but overall, O’Connor said at the time: “President Biden is a healthy, active, robust 81-year-old male, who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency.”

Jean-Pierre insisted this assessment remained the case, and told reporters: “We’re not taking away from what you all saw, or what the American people saw. We understand it was a bad night.

“But it is not uncommon for incumbents to have a bad night on their first debate, and we are going to continue to do the work that we have been doing on behalf of the American people.”


Behind the scenes, however, Democrats remained in panic mode, particularly after various reports suggested Biden’s performance during the debate – in which he struggled to complete sentences, forgot details and at one point froze – was “not a one-off”.

“There have been 15, 20, occasions in the last year and a half when the president has appeared somewhat as he did in that horror show that we witnessed,” veteran Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Monday, citing unnamed sources who had witnessed this first hand.



Lloyd Doggett is the first Democrat congressman to publicly call on Biden to pull out of the presidential race.CREDIT:BLOOMBERG

A CNN poll taken after the debate and released on Tuesday provided some good news for the president, showing that the six-point lead Trump held over Biden two months ago had not changed despite last Thursday’s event.

The same poll, however, also showed that most Americans now believe that another candidate would have a better chance of beating Trump than Biden, with Vice President Kamala Harris within striking distance of Trump (45 to 47 per cent).




California Governor Gavin Newsom has been raised as a potential presidential candidate over Biden.CREDIT:AP

Other contenders – such as California Governor Gavin Newsom, Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer – trailed Trump by about 4 to 5 percentage points on a hypothetical match-up.

Biden, however, insists he is not going anywhere.

In a bid to counter concerns, he spent part of the day at the District of Columbia’s emergency operations centre to discuss the dangers of extreme heat and used his speech to take aim at Trump and “MAGA Republicans” for climate change denialism.


He later met with governors who had concerns (but were not calling for him to stand down).

The White House also announced he would hold a press conference at next week’s NATO summit in Washington and a first post-debate interview on Sunday with US ABC’s George Stephanopoulos.



  Kamala Harris reacts to Trump immunity ruling, Biden debate performance

 

 Former Rep. Tim Ryan says Kamala Harris should replace Biden as nominee

 

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