ISTANBUL

After Thursday night's presidential debate, 67% of viewers believed former US President Donald Trump won, while 33% thought President Joe Biden performed better, a CNN flash poll showed.

The poll showed Trump soundly defeating Biden, with 67% of debate watchers believing Trump won, compared to 33% who thought Biden performed better.

About the poll, Fox News reported that this marks a significant shift from CNN's 2020 poll, which had 53% of viewers feeling Biden won the final debate that year against Trump.

The debate, held in the US city of Atlanta, saw Biden struggling with his responses, stumbling over answers, rambling, and appearing to have low energy, the Independent also reported.

"This debate was a total and complete disaster for Biden," former CNN commentator Chris Cilizza wrote on X, adding: "He looked old. His answers trailed off repeatedly. He was hard to understand. He would stop in mid-sentence and move on to something else. I never thought he would be this bad. Stunning. Truly."

Biden's campaign attributed his performance to a cold, and pushed back against the negative narrative.

Also, Vice President Kamala Harris told CNN: "It was a slow start but a strong finish."

Yet, first lady Jill Biden praised her husband, saying: "Joe, you did such a good job! You answered every question. You knew all the facts."

Political commentator Alyssa Farah Griffin highlighted the poll results on X, noting: "Stunning number from voters who witnessed his performance with their own eyes."

CNN said that the poll, conducted via text message with 565 registered voters who watched the debate, revealed that 57% of viewers had no real confidence in Biden's ability to lead the US, while 44% expressed similar doubts about Trump.

The Independent also stated that reports of "deep panic" among Democrats surfaced following the debate, with some calling for Biden to be replaced as the party's nominee.

However, California Governor Gavin Newsom firmly supported Biden, saying: "I will never turn my back on President Biden. ... I don’t know a Democrat in my party that would do so. ... And especially after tonight, we have his back, we run not the 90-yard dash. We’re all in, we’re going to double down in the next few months. We’re gonna win this election."

Fox News added that the majority of users on social media appeared to agree with the CNN poll results, including liberal pundits, indicating a broad perception of Trump's strong debate performance in the debate.