According to a new survey, the majority of adults in the United States intend to watch some type of media coverage of Thursday’s presidential debate between President Biden and former President Trump.
The poll, conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and released Wednesday, revealed that 64 percent of respondents intend to watch or listen to some or all of the forthcoming debate.
About 37% said they are “extremely likely” to tune in, while 27% believe they are “somewhat likely” to watch the discussion, which will be moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.
35 percent of respondents indicated it’s “not too likely” that they would watch the debate at all.
More respondents, 40%, indicate they plan to listen to or watch highlights of the debate later. However, just over 40% of survey respondents said they are “extremely likely” to watch, listen to, or read about the debate in the news or on social media.
Despite the earlier-than-usual date for a presidential debate, the findings indicate that millions of Americans are eager to hear what Biden and Trump have to say on stage before a bitter rematch later this year.
In an online conversation earlier this year, the expected party nominees immediately agreed to two debates, one in June and one in September.
They also agreed to a series of restrictions recommended by CNN, including mike muting, during a raucous meeting during a 2020 debate.
According to the survey, the majority of respondents believe the discussion will be essential for both camps.
Approximately 47 percent of respondents feel Biden’s on-stage performance Thursday will be critical to his campaign’s success.
Approximately 41% stated the same about the prior president.
The AP-NORC survey of 1,088 adults was conducted from June 20 to 24. It has a margin of error of four percentage points.
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