More voters expect a stronger debate for Trump than for Biden, poll shows

Overall, nearly half of voters anticipated a poor showing for Biden, signaling that the president enters the televised event facing widespread skepticism and scrutiny over his ability to demonstrate his fitness for office.

The debate will be the first time the two men will share a stage since October 2020, when they participated in the final debate of that year’s presidential race. It will be the earliest presidential debate in the nation’s history, occurring at the start of the summer rather than in the fall when the debates typically begin, and with a notably different format.

Nearly three-quarters of the participants in the poll said they planned to watch the debate. Republicans expressed the most enthusiasm: 83 per cent of Republican voters said they planned to watch, compared with 74 per cent of Democrats and 70 per cent of independents.

Melinda Cassetta, a federal employee from Clarksville, Maryland, said she was excited to see the matchup between the president and his predecessor.

“In this house, we will be live watching,” said Cassetta, 58, who is supporting Biden. “I told my kids, ‘No talking allowed.’”

Cassetta said she expected Biden to deliver a strong performance, though she worried about his age and speaking style, which she attributed to his childhood speech disorder.

“For Biden, we all know what everybody talks about: age. I get it, but Trump isn’t that much younger than him. And maybe he stutters,” she said, adding, “but Biden’s mind is there.”

Notably more Biden supporters expressed doubts about the performance of their candidate than Republicans: 92 per cent of Republicans said they expected Trump to deliver a strong showing, while 84 per cent of Democrats said the same about the president.

The divergent images of the two men may be tied to views about Biden’s vitality. While Biden and Trump are only three years apart, voters continue to give Biden, 81, lower ratings than Trump, 78, when asked about their ability to be effective in office.

Forty-five percent of voters said Biden’s age was such a problem that he is not capable of handling the job of president. Only 16 per cent said the same about Trump. Those numbers are largely consistent with Times/Siena polling in February.

Still, the president retains a base of support when it comes to the debate. Steven Bergstein, a lawyer from Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, said he expected Biden to deliver a strong performance.

“He’s a bright guy. He’s intelligent. He’s been through this many, many times. And he’s what is referred to in Yiddish as a ‘mensch,’” said Bergstein, 70, who is backing Biden. “Unfortunately, his opponent doesn’t have that skill.”

Still, Bergstein expressed some concerns about how others might perceive the president’s age.

“The only thing I worry about is, sometimes I think people don’t listen and they just look. So Biden’s, you know, 80 whatever years old, and he doesn’t run. He walks,” he said. “You know, so do I sometimes.”

Trump has also spent months mocking Biden as a weak and incompetent debater. In May, he called Biden “the WORST debater I have ever faced. He can’t put two sentences together!”

But in recent days, he has sought to reset some of those expectations. Last week, he called Biden a “worthy debater,” praising Biden’s performance in vice presidential debates against Paul Ryan in 2012.

Samuel Palmer, a retiree from Nampa, Idaho, said he expected Trump to be “extremely well prepared” for the debate. But he worries about the format, which includes no audience and a rule that each candidate’s microphone will be muted when it is not their turn to speak. In recent days, the Trump campaign has attacked the debate moderators, two veteran CNN journalists, by accusing them of biased coverage of Trump in the past.

“With the debate moderators having such control over, you know, how this whole thing is going to be going, I think that puts him at a little bit of a disadvantage, to a certain extent,” said Palmer, 68, who is supporting Trump. “But he’s more than capable of putting on what I would hope to be an extremely well done and factual performance.”