Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s numerous blunders over the course of the presidential campaign have left some voters concerned about the former vice president’s ability to debate President Trump, according to a new poll.
A survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports finds that 54% of likely voters think Biden is capable of debating Trump. Thirty-six percent think he is not capable of the debate.
The survey of 1,000 likely voters was conducted between July 9-12 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Three debates between the candidates are scheduled for the weeks leading up to the Nov. 3 election, but advisers close to Trump have called for a fourth debate, a suggestion the Biden campaign has ruled out. One vice presidential debate is also scheduled.
Thomas Friedman, a columnist for the New York Times, has called for Biden to refuse to participate in debates if Trump doesn’t release his tax returns for 2016 through 2018.
Friedman also said Biden “should insist that a real-time fact-checking team approved by both candidates be hired by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates,” if these conditions are not met, Friedman claims it would give Trump “unfair advantages.”
A poll conducted by Rasmussen in June found that 38% of likely voters believe Biden has dementia, including 20% of Democrats and 30% of independents. Over half of Democrats and unaffiliated voters thought that Biden should “address the dementia issue publicly.”
Biden stumbled over a recitation of the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence at a campaign event in March, saying, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, all men and women created by — you know, you know, the thing.” At an event in February, Biden said he was a candidate for “United States Senate.”
When asked by a reporter if he had been tested for cognitive decline, Biden replied, “I’ve been testing, and I’m constantly testing,” adding that he can “hardly wait to compare” his cognitive abilities to those of Trump.
