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Trump expands lead on Biden after shooting: Polls
Democrats call for Biden to step aside as nominee
A survey released Thursday by CBS News found that among likely voters, 52 percent said their choice for president is Trump, while 47 percent said the same about Biden.
Trump’s numbers increased, up from 50 percent in a July 3 survey, while Biden dropped 1 percent.
Biden fared better in battleground states but still trailed Trump. Fifty-one percent of likely voters in battleground states say they choose Trump compared to Biden’s 48 percent.
Most respondents said the way Trump handled the assassination attempt at his Butler, Pa., rally last Saturday had no change on their vote, but 26 percent said they are more likely to consider voting for Trump after the shooting and 7 percent said they are less likely to consider him.
Biden’s poor debate performance last month sparked fear among Democrats about his ability to beat Trump in the election and serve another four years if reelected. Calls for him to step aside and let someone else, namely Vice President Harris, run have persisted in the weeks after the debate.
The survey found that Trump would also lead if Harris were the nominee, 51 percent to 48 percent.
A Morning Consult survey released Thursday also found Trump widened his lead after the shooting.
Democrats at the highest levels are making a critical push for Biden to reevaluate his election bid, with former president Barack Obama expressing private concerns to allies and former speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi privately telling Biden the party could lose the ability to seize control of the House if he doesn’t step aside.
Pelosi has told Biden she believes he cannot win the Nov. 5 election and backed California lawmaker Adam Schiff’s call for him to step aside, a top White House source with direct knowledge of the matter said.
So far, 21 House Democrats and two Senate Democrats have directly called on the president to exit the race
Several people close to Biden also said Thursday that they believe he has begun to accept the idea that he may not be able to win in November and may have to drop out of the race, bowing to the growing demands of many anxious members of his party.