Most US adults plan to watch some element of Thursday's presidential debate, and many think the event will be important for the campaigns of both President Biden and former President Trump, according to a new poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Both men remain broadly unpopular as they prepare to face off for the first time since 2020, although Trump maintains a modest enthusiasm advantage with his base compared to Biden. Stats:
- About 6 in 10 US adults say they're "extremely" or "very" likely to watch the debate live or in clips, or read about or listen to commentary about the performance of the candidates in the news or social media, per the AP. The poll suggests tens of millions of Americans are likely to see or hear about at least part of Thursday's debate despite how unusually early it comes in the campaign season.
- USA Today reports Americans have tuned in to a Biden-Trump debate in great numbers before: The candidates' September 2020 debate was one of the most-watched ever, with more than 73 million viewers, per Nielsen Media.
- Both sides see the debate as important: About half, 47%, of Americans say the debate is "extremely" or "very" important for the success of Biden's campaign, and about 4 in 10 say it's highly important for Trump's campaign.
- Biden and Trump are each entering the debate with low favorability ratings, with about 6 in 10 US adults indicating they have a very or somewhat unfavorable view of Biden; a similar number have a negative view of Trump.
(The poll of 1,088 adults was conducted June 20-24, with a margin of sampling error for all respondents of plus or minus 4 percentage points. More here.)
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