Nearly three-fourths of voters believe that if President Joe Biden skips the presidential debates, it shows “weakness,” a Fox News poll found Wednesday.
Biden remains noncommittal about debating former President Donald Trump. In contrast, Trump is gung ho to confront Biden on his record.
“It is important, for the Good of our Country, that Joe Biden and I Debate Issues that are so vital to America, and the American People,” Trump posted on Truth Social in March. “Therefore, I am calling for Debates, ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, ANYPLACE!”
The poll asked respondents, “If a candidate chooses to skip a presidential debate, do you think that shows strength or weakness?”
- Weakness: 72 percent
- Strength: 19 percent
- (Depends): 5 percent
- (Don’t know): 4 percent
Voters appear to agree with Trump that a debate is important. The poll asked respondents, “How important is it to have presidential debates between Joe Biden and Donald Trump?”
- Extremely: 42 percent
- Very: 22 percent
- Somewhat: 19 percent
- Not at all: 16 percent
- (Don’t know): 1 percent
When asked if he would debate Trump, Biden seemed to avoid the question by attacking the former president. “It depends on his behavior,” he told reporters on March 8.
In addition, the survey found that Biden’s approval rating sits at 41 percent, well below the 50 percent threshold that incumbents historically need to win reelection.
The poll sampled 1,095 registered voters from March 22-25, 2024, with a ± three percent margin of error.
Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former GOP War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.
