A month out from the U.S. election on November 3, former Vice President Joe Biden’s national lead over President Donald Trump has widened.
A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that Biden has the support of 53% of registered voters nationally, versus 39% for Trump, a 14-percentage-point lead. The poll was taken after last week’s first presidential debate but before the Friday announcement of Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis.
Poll respondents said they feel Biden better handled the debate, a free-for-all in which Trump frequently interrupted his opponent and Biden called the president a “clown.” The survey found 49% of voters think Biden did a better job in the debate, while 24% think Trump performed better. Another 17% said neither man did a good job in the debate.
Even so, it is unclear how much the debate will change the race. About three-quarters of respondents (73%) said the debate made no difference in how they will vote. Another 19% responded that the debate made them more likely to support Biden, while 6% answered that it made them more likely to vote for Trump.
In the NBC/WSJ poll taken before the president’s diagnosis, 52% of registered voters said Biden would do a better job dealing with the coronavirus, versus 35% who chose Trump. Asked who would better handle a range of other issues, respondents preferred Trump in only one area: the economy.
