Biden widens lead to all-time high over Trump after debate, diagnosis: Poll

US Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has widened his lead to an all-time high record of 14 points over Republican President Donald Trump in a national poll taken right after their first debate last week.

The NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released on Sunday showed that Biden has the support of 53 percent of registered voters in comparison with Trump’s 39 percent.

The NBC News said the survey found that the Democratic presidential nominee’s lead had increased by eight percentage points from a same poll before last week’s debate, underlining that Biden’s current advantage over the incumbent president is his largest of the 2020 campaign.

According to the poll, almost half of respondents – 49 percent – believed that Biden did a better job in the debate, which was marked by repeated interruptions and personal insults. Roughly one-quarter – 24 percent – said Trump outdid his Democratic rival.

Approximately three in four registered voters – 73 percent – said the debate would have no effect on their vote.

US presidential debate marred by bitter barbs, interruptions

US presidential candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden have held their first round of debate, but the debate was marred by frequent insults and interruptions.

The opinion poll also found that Trump’s job approval rating had fallen by two percentage points to 43 percent, while 58 percent of voters said Biden is better fitted to be president, compared to 26 percent who favored the Republican president.

The US Democratic presidential nominee also holds an edge over Trump on such topics as race relations, health care and the coronavirus containment.

Trump, whose strong point in 2020 presidential campaigns is believed to be economy, has also lost support by three points in the Sunday poll.

The NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll was carried out with a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points among 800 registered voters between September 30 and October 1, before Trump’s positive coronavirus test was announced.

Biden leads by 10 points after Trump’s diagnosis

In another poll released on Sunday, Biden’s lead over Trump in the presidential race grew to 10 points in the wake of the president testing positive for the coronavirus.

The Reuters-Ipsos poll found that 51 percent of respondents now back Biden compared to 41 percent who support the president.

Four percent are backing a third-party candidate while another four percent are undecided.

The survey also found continued disapproval of Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, including to his own diagnosis with the virus, saying 57 percent of Americans were dissatisfied with his response to the pandemic, an increase of 3 points from last week.

Moreover, about 65 percent of voters in the Reuters-Ipsos poll said they agree with the premise “if President Trump had taken coronavirus more seriously, he probably would not have been infected.”

The Sunday poll showed that only 34 percent of respondents said they believe Trump has been telling the public the truth about the virus, compared to 55 percent who said he is not and 11 percent who are not sure.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted among 1,005 US adults, including 596 likely voters, from October 2 to October 3 with a five percentage point margin of error.

Trump announced on Thursday night that he and his wife Melania had tested positive for COVID-19 and were going into quarantine, just a month ahead of the presidential election.

COVID-19 complications, given Trump's age and weight, could kill him: Reports

Trump, who is 74-year-old, is 90 times more likely to die from the virus complications than someone between the age of 18 and 29, according to CDC.

Trump is at a high risk for a severe infection due to his advanced age and being overweight, according to reports.

Trump, who is 74-year-old, is five times more likely to get hospitalized and 90 times more likely to die from the virus complications than someone between the age of 18 and 29, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Trump's positive COVID-19 test just came after he had earlier claimed that the end of the pandemic was in sight, capping a months-long underplaying of the seriousness of the virus.

He has come under sharp criticism for his response to the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 214,000 people in the United States alone.

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