Former President Donald Trump has built a four-point lead over President Biden ahead of Thursday’s debate with his 2024 presidential opponent, according to a new poll.
Trump, 78, received the support of 48% of voters, compared with 44% for Biden. The New York Times/Siena College This was revealed in a poll released on Wednesday.
The results represent Trump’s largest lead in a national poll this election cycle.
The pollster’s last survey, released in April, showed Trump leading Biden, 81, by just one point among likely voters.
The survey found that the former president holds a six-point advantage over the incumbent among registered voters, 48% to 42%.
When third-party candidates were included in the poll, Trump also outperformed Biden, receiving 40% support to the president’s 37%.
Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 70, received the support of 7% of voters.
The outlet noted that the poll results could be an outlier, as the average of national polls as of Wednesday showed Trump leading by just one point, 46% to 45%.
The poll showed Biden’s age continues to be an issue for voters, with 70%, including a majority of his supporters, saying the president is too old to be effective.
Meanwhile, only 40% say the same about Trump.
Voters cited the economy (23%) and immigration (17%) as their top two issues heading into the election, with 50% saying Trump would do a better job of dealing with their key issues, while only 40% said Biden was better equipped to deal with their top issues.
The two candidates face off on Thursday in the first of two debates scheduled before the November election.
Seventy-seven percent of voters said they planned to watch the showdown, with 59% predicting Trump would do well and just under half (48%) expecting Biden to do similarly.
