When President Joe Biden‘s campaign called for a presidential debate in late June, it was hoping to pitch undecided voters on a veteran lawmaker with a record of policy accomplishments and to contrast him with an erratic politician who has promised to weaponize the justice system and who was recently convicted of a crime.
But Biden’s disastrous performance Thursday night may have done the opposite. Reporting from several news outlets Friday morning indicated that the debate may have swayed some undecided voters away from Biden and toward former President Donald Trump, or simply left them despondent at their options.
Pollster Frank Luntz said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Friday morning that of the 14 people in his focus group of undecided voters in swing states, 12 leaned toward Trump after watching the debate.
Several undecided voters told CBS News that neither candidate had made a strong case for himself. “I was worried Biden would show he’s not up to the job, but he was even worse than I feared,” one 63-year-old undecided voter in Massachusetts told Reuters. “I might just abstain.”








