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Two critical questions remain unanswered as President Joe Biden's campaign polls how Vice President Kamala Harris could perform in a head-to-head contest against Donald Trump, according to a new report by The New York Times.
Biden has faced mounting calls from Democrats to step aside from pursuing his party's 2024 nomination since a disastrous debate performance two weeks ago on June 27. Long-standing concerns from many voters about the president's mental acuity and ability to defeat Trump in November exploded after the debate, with a growing list of House and Senate Democrats publicly and privately urging Biden to step aside.
The Times on Thursday reported that the campaign has started polling how Harris could perform against Trump, citing three unnamed sources. However, those sources did not disclose two key details regarding the new survey.
"They did not specify why the survey was being conducted or what the campaign planned to do with the results," the Times reported.
NBC News later on Thursday also reported that Biden's campaign began to "quietly assess the viability of Harris' candidacy against Trump in a new head-to-head poll," citing a source.
Biden stepping down would be unprecedented in recent presidential election history, and it's unclear how Democrats would handle the situation. However, as Biden's running mate and current vice president, Harris has emerged as a favorite to take the party's nomination should the president step aside. Many Democrats view her as the easiest and clearest replacement, but others are concerned about her ability to defeat Trump.
Kevin Munoz, a Biden campaign spokesman, told the New York Times that campaign staffers were told the 2024 ticket is "President Biden and Vice President Harris."
Newsweek reached out to Biden's campaign for comment.
Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump, referred Newsweek to remarks the former president made during a Florida rally on Tuesday when reached for comment regarding the new report.
"The truth is, it doesn't matter who they nominate—because we are going to beat any one of them in a thundering landslides," Trump said.
Jason Miller, a Trump adviser, quickly commented on the new reporting in an X post. "Savage. The call is coming from inside the house, Joe!"
"The effort, which comes as a growing number of prominent lawmakers call for Mr. Biden to step aside or suggest he should reconsider his plans to run, indicates that his campaign may be preparing to wade into a debate that has consumed the Democratic Party behind closed doors: whether Mr. Biden should step aside for his vice president," the Times reported.
Polling has long shown Biden struggling against Trump nationally as well as in critical swing states. Multiple high-profile polls have shown the president falling further behind the former president since his widely panned failure in the debate at the end of last month.
The Real Clear Polling average has Trump leading by about 3 points nationally, or 47.2 percent, compared to Biden's 44.2 percent. The FiveThirtyEight polling average currently has Biden down 2.1 points at 40.2 percent compared to Trump's 42.3 percent. Meanwhile, the Times polling averages for critical swing states show Trump ahead in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Most recent national polls show Harris narrowly trailing Trump as well, although she performs better than Biden in some. New polling by ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos published on Thursday showed the vice president ahead of the former GOP president.
That survey showed Harris would lead Trump in the popular vote: 49 percent to 46 percent among all adults. Among registered voters, she held a narrower lead of 49 percent to 47 percent. The poll included 2,431 adults and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 points.
Despite the pushback from Democrats, Biden and his campaign have said repeatedly that he plans to remain in the race. The president has described his debate performance as a "bad night," dismissing concerns about his mental competence.
Update 7/11/24, 1:21 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Update 7/11/24, 2:27 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Trump's campaign.
Update 7/11/24, 3:21 p.m. ET: The article was updated to reflect NBC confirming the Times report.
About the writer
Jason Lemon is a Senior Politics Editor at Newsweek based in Brooklyn, New York. Prior to taking on the editor role, Jason's reporting focused ... Read more