To be sure, the president turned in a more energetic performance than he had on that woeful debate night, when he sometimes appeared lost and incoherent. “I just had a bad night, I don’t know why.”“And how quickly did it come to you that you were having a bad night?” Stephanopoulos asked. Only 42% said the same about Trump, 78, whose own terrible debate performance was eclipsed by Biden’s meltdown. Three separate polls conducted by CNN, The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal after the debate all showed Biden trailing Trump by six points nationwide. Previous polls have shown Biden trailing in nearly all the battleground states he narrowly won in 2020.

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Persons: David Axelrod, ”, Barack Obama, Obama, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Biden, —, didn’t, stoutly, “, ” Stephanopoulos, misfire, Stephanopoulos, Biden demurred, Virginia —, Trump, It’s, sully Organizations: CNN, Democratic Party, Republican, Trump, The New York Times, Wall, Biden, —, Twitter, Facebook Locations: — Minnesota, New Hampshire , New Mexico, Virginia