2024’s first presidential debate was yesterday night on CNN between former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden. After everything was wrapped up, most viewers believed Trump won.
According to Fox News, a CNN poll posted on air showed 67% of viewers felt Trump won, compared to the 33% that believed the winner was Biden. The margin of error for the poll is plus or minus 5.5%.
CNN notes that their poll does not represent all registered voters. Those in the poll were 5 times more likely to be Republican-aligned.
Further statistics, given by CNN, show that 96% of GOP debate watches say Trump performed better during the debate and 85% of GOP debate watchers say Trump did more addressing the concerns about his abilities to handle the role of president.
Claiming victory in the viewer’s eyes is a major improvement for Trump, who only had 39% of viewers believing he won in the final 2020 presidential debate. Biden and his campaign, however, might be in trouble.
A vast majority of social media subscribers appear to agree with the CNN polls, including some liberals. Taking to X, former CNN commentator Chris Cillizza noted how disastrous the debate was for Biden, giving examples including the president trailing off and being hard to understand. Not giving her opinion on how the event turned out, or discussing the behavior of either candidate, political commentator Alyssa Farah Griffin, also using X, called the numbers stunning, Fox News says. These points of view are further shown in more parts of CNN’s poll, with all opinionated questions showing more voters leaning toward Trump.
Of course, Biden’s team is scrambling to fight the belief that he lost the debate. Vice President Kamala Harris, Fox News says, told CNN that Biden had “a slow start but a strong finish”. First Lady Jill Biden also praised her husband after the debate.
Regarding all voters who participated in CNN’s debate, 48% are considering voting for Trump, 40% are considering Biden, 2% are considering both, and 11% aren’t considering either candidate. It’s a little early to start predictions though, let’s keep an eye on the campaigns before we make any predictions.
