Trump leading Biden ahead of CNN Presidential Debate, support from Black voters way up since 2020: poll

Trump is backed by 26% of Black likely voters, compared to only 5% in June 2020, a New York Times/Siena College poll shows

Biden campaign aims to 'trigger' Trump with one-liners during CNN Presidential Debate: Report

Fox News contributor Joe Concha joined 'Fox & Friends First' to discuss his take on Biden's debate strategy and why the campaign is going after a temperament narrative as opposed to focusing on a policy debate.

Former President Trump has a four-percentage-point lead over President Biden in a national poll released ahead of their first 2024 televised presidential debate hosted by CNN on Thursday. 

The latest New York Times/Siena College poll released on Wednesday showed 48% of the electorate say they would vote for Trump, the Republican, if the presidential election were held that same day, while 44% said they would vote for Biden, the Democrat. That contrasts to April’s  New York Times/Siena College poll that showed Trump leading Biden by just one percentage point. 

Asked whether Biden should remain the Democratic Party’s nominee, 61% said there should be a different Democratic nominee, while 33% said Biden should remain. That compares to 54% who said there should be a different Republican nominee, while 41% believe Trump should remain. 

The poll showed 26% of Black likely voters would support Trump in the 2024 election. While 65% of Black likely voters said they would support Biden, Trump’s gains represent a significant uptick since 2020. 

According to a New York Times/ Siena College poll conducted June 17-20, 2020, just 5% of Black registered voters said they would support Trump, while 79% said they would support Biden. 

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Notably, for the time, 68% of national registered voters said they disapproved of Trump's handling of the protests and riots following George Floyd's death in police custody in Minneapolis. 

Trump and Biden recent split

Former President Donald Trump is leading four percentage points ahead of President Biden, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll. (Getty Images)

The latest poll of 1,226 registered voters nationwide, including 991 who completed the full survey, was conducted in English and Spanish on cellular and landline telephones from June 20 to 25, 2024. 

It also asked whether participants believed Biden or Trump are too old to be an effective president. A net percentage of 68% agreed Biden is too old, while 39% said the same for Trump. 

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Trump at Pennsylvania rally

Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump arrives to a campaign rally on June 22, 2024, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Conducted following Trump’s criminal conviction in the hush-money case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the poll found just 11% of the electorate were more likely to support Trump after he was found guilty, while just 19% were less likely to support him. Most people, 68%, said Trump’s hush-money conviction made no difference in whether they would back him.

There was a two-percentage-point lead in respondents who agreed the charges against Trump are mostly politically motivated contrasted against those who believe Trump was charged mostly because prosecutors believed he committed crimes. The majority, 55%, agreed that Trump should not be sentenced to prison in the hush-money case, while 37% said he should be kept behind bars. 

With just over four months until Election Day, Thursday's debate offers both candidates a rare potential to alter the trajectory of the race. 

Biden at DACA event

President Biden speaks at an event marking the 12th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program at the White House on June 18, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Trump and Biden have not been on the same stage or even spoken since their last debate weeks before the 2020 presidential election. Trump skipped Biden's inauguration. 

Thursday's broadcast on CNN will be the earliest general election debate in history. It is the first-ever televised general election presidential debate hosted by a single news outlet after both campaigns ditched the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, which had organized every one since 1988.

Under the network’s rules, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. did not qualify.

Aiming to avoid a repeat of their chaotic 2020 face-offs, Biden insisted — and Trump agreed — to hold the debate without an audience and to allow the network to mute the candidates’ microphones when it is not their turn to speak. There will be two commercial breaks, another departure from modern practice. The candidates have agreed not to consult staff or others while the cameras are off.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Danielle Wallace is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering politics, crime, police and more. Story tips can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and on Twitter: @danimwallace. 

Authored by Danielle Wallace via FoxNews June 27th 2024