Biden actually gained a point since last month’s survey, which was taken before the debate. In this poll, he leads Trump 50% to 48% in a head-to-head matchup. But Biden slips when third-party options are introduced, with Trump holding the slightest advantage with 43% to 42%.
Those numbers, though, do not represent statistically significant differences, as the margin of error in the survey is +/- 3.1 percentage points, meaning results could be 3 points higher or lower.
The poll also found that, at this point, no other mainstream Democrat who has been mentioned as a replacement for the president on the ticket does better than Biden.
The results reflect the hyperpolarized political environment in the country and the reality that both of the major parties’ presumptive nominees bring with them significant disadvantages. Majorities of those surveyed continue to say they have a negative opinion of both men, and neither, they say, should be on the ballot at all.
Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20240712121307/https://www.npr.org/2024/07/12/nx-s1-5036518/biden-trump-poll
National polls are essentially garbage in close elections. They really only say if there’s going to be a landslide. The fact nationwide polls are close and getting closer is generally bad for an incumbent.
With you until the last line. I guess “generally” saves it. I don’t think you can say these close polls are bad for Biden, because as you pointed out polling is essentially garbage. I think it’s a mix of selection bias and some phenomenon by which some people just lie to pollsters. Even exit polls have been increasingly unreliable.