Joe Biden’s lackluster debate showing has led to a role reversal with Donald Trump concerning perceptions of competence, as revealed by an exclusive DailyMail.com poll.
The results indicate that a greater number of independent voters would trust Trump, despite his criminal conviction, over the 81-year-old president, who often portrays himself as a charming grandfather, to watch over their children.
Whether it’s tackling a DIY project, organizing a road trip, or simply spending time together, Trump emerged as the preferred choice.
The survey, conducted by J.L. Partners with 805 independent voters who tuned into the debate, showed Trump leading in these everyday scenarios.
This outcome represents a significant blow for Biden, whose team anticipated leveraging the debate to draw attention to the turmoil and unease during Trump’s tenure.
J.L. Partners asked 805 independent voters for their thoughts on the two candidates after Thursday evening’s debate. The results suggest Trump is ranked more competent than Biden
Contrarily, Biden’s performance was marked by hesitation and uncertainty, underscoring his 81 years.
Independent voters overwhelmingly saw Trump as the winner, branding him the more presidential and stronger of the two candidates.
And 38 percent said they would want Trump to babysit for them ahead of 29 percent who said they would ask Biden.
More than half said they would prefer to spend the Fourth of July with Trump, about the same percentage who said he would be the better bet to put up a shelf, perhaps worried that Biden would fall off a ladder.
‘If you’d have told me at the start of this year that independent voters would prefer Trump to babysit their kids over Biden, I’d have told you you were mad,’ said James Johnson, co-founder of J.L. Partners.
‘Even during the depths of his unpopularity, Biden has tended to be seen as the more caring and competent of the two leaders.
‘Debate night changed that.’
He added that voters were so concerned by Biden’s age—eight in 10 of them, according to the poll—that they now doubt his basic competence.
‘Competence is not a dry, managerial quality to voters but linked to strength and purpose,’ he said.
The candidates are the oldest in history. Trump is only three years younger than Biden
How did listening to Joe Biden in the first presidential debate make you feel?
‘Biden failed to show any of those qualities at the debate and, almost by default, Trump claimed the mantle of babysitter-in-chief.’
Biden’s campaign had pushed for the early debate—the earliest in history—because they believed that many voters had yet to focus in on the choice they will face in November.
But the decision backfired, triggering a frantic round of soul-searching among Democrats worried they might be letting the election slip away.
Among independents, the group who will decide the outcome in November, the verdict was brutal.
When asked for one word to describe how listening to Biden made them feel, respondents said: Concerned, worried, sad.
