Swaying voters criticized President Biden’s insistence on blaming former President Trump for issues under the current administration and took issue with his policies during a discussion with Maslansky and Partners President Lee Carter.
Some members of the Fox News Digital focus group had a change of heart on how they planned to vote after watching the debate.
“Cognitive ability … this is the highest office, and for me, it’s very important that I trust the executive to understand and be cognitively competent,” one member of the focus group, who changed their support from President Biden to former President Donald after the debate, said of their reasoning.
The comments come after the first debate between Biden and Trump, who will square off in a rematch of the 2020 election.
President Joe Biden speaks as he participates in the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections with former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at CNN’s studios in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 27, 2024. Republican presidential candidate former U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks during the CNN Presidential Debate at the CNN Studios on June 27, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia. ((Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images); (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images))
Biden, who has faced growing questions about his fitness to continue serving in the nation’s highest office, looked to dispel any notion that he lacked the physical and mental capacity for four more years as president. However, many critics point out that his performance only did more to deepen those fears among voters.
“From the very first moment, Biden looked old, hard to understand, confused, saying scary things, and just throwing mud,” Fox Business’ Larry Kudlow said shortly after the debate.
“I’ve lived four years with Trump, I lived three and a half years with [Biden]. I’ll take the other four.”
Those observations were shared by the Fox News Digital focus group, with one member saying that one only had to play back video of the debate to see why the night solidified his support for Trump.
“I’ve lived four years with Trump, I lived three and a half years with [Biden],” the member said. “I’ll take the other four.”
Overall, 10 of the 15 members of the group said they were supporting Trump after the debate.
Asked whether any moments for Biden stuck out, some respondents praised the president for his positions on taxes and childcare. Nevertheless, the group expressed concern overall when it comes to Biden’s ability to lead the country.
President Joe Biden speaks as he participates in the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections with former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at CNN’s studios in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 27, 2024. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
“I don’t think anyone is going to remember anything he said tonight,” one member said. “They’re going to remember how he said it.”
For its part, the Biden campaign insists the debate was a net negative for Trump and helped make the case for the president.
“Based on research we conducted during tonight’s debate, it is clear that the more voters heard from Donald Trump, the more they remembered why they dislike him. Meanwhile, President Biden started slow but finished strong,” a Biden campaign official told Fox News Digital in an email early Friday morning.
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The Biden campaign referred to a “survey of undecided voters in a Midwest state” where “debate-watchers agreed that President Biden won the debate and the more they saw of Donald Trump’s erratic and vindictive behavior, the more they remembered why they voted against him in 2020.”
“Over the course of the night, Trump continued to double down on unpopular policy positions and petty and vindictive personal anecdotes, while refusing to address the issues that undecided voters actually care about,” the official added.