Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump trails just one Democrat in a hypothetical matchup, according to a new poll: former first lady Michelle Obama, who has said several times that she will not run for president in 2024.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released this week showed Trump tied with President Joe Biden and leading Vice President Kamala Harris, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, The Hill reported. Trump, however, fell far behind the wife of former President Barack Obama, according to the poll.
Michelle Obama bested Trump in the poll by 11 points, garnering 50% compared to Trump’s 39%. Trump tied with Biden at 40% in the Reuters/Ipsos survey and beat Harris by one point. In hypothetical matchups with Newsom and Whitmer, Trump came out on top by three and five points, respectively.
The poll of 1,070 U.S. adults was conducted just days after Biden’s poor debate performance, which led to some Democrats and Left-leaning political commentators calling for the president to step out of the race and clear the way for another candidate to run against Trump.
Ms. Obama has repeatedly said she is not considering a presidential run this cycle. Earlier this year, she told NBC News in a statement that she was backing Biden’s re-election bid.
“As former First Lady Michelle Obama has expressed several times over the years, she will not be running for president,” Obama’s communications director said in March. “Mrs. Obama supports President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ re-election campaign.”
The president and his family have maintained that he has no intention of dropping out of the race. The most powerful elected Democrats in Congress and across the country have publicly voiced support for Biden to continue with his re-election campaign, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and the governors who have been floated as potential Biden replacements, such as Newsom, Whitmer, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.
Trump blasted Biden in remarks he made that were caught on video after the debate, calling the 81-year-old president a “broken down pile of crap,” adding that he thinks Biden is “quitting the race.”
“I got him out of the — and that means we have Kamala,” he said. “I think she’s going to be better — she’s so bad. She’s so pathetic. She’s so f***ing bad.”
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— Dan Scavino Jr.🇺🇸🦅 (@DanScavino) July 4, 2024