- A question about age led to a dispute over golf in last week’s debate.
- Joe Biden challenged Donald Trump to a round if he carried his own bag
- READ MORE: Follow live updates on US politics
It was one of the strangest moments of last week’s presidential debate: two older men arguing about their prowess on the golf course.
It ended with President Joe Biden, 81, challenging his predecessor Donald Trump, 78, to a round.
And voters overwhelmingly believe Trump would win, according to an exclusive DailyMail.com poll.
It found that 52 percent of likely voters believed the former president (and golf club owner) would defeat Biden. Only 16 percent thought the Democratic candidate would win.
Even Democrats are not very convinced of their candidate’s chances on the 18-hole ballot. A third say he would win, while 26 percent think he would lose.
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump traded insults over golf at the debate in Atlanta. Biden struggled to keep up with the exchanges for much of the night.
With so much at stake in the November election, including democracy according to Biden, it’s possible that the other 41 percent of Democrats who said “don’t know” simply thought the question was stupid.
But it reflects a central question facing voters after Biden’s faltering debate performance: Is he up to the strains of the job?
Both are golf enthusiasts and Trump used his hobby to answer questions about how he would fare at the end of his second presidential term, when he would be 82.
“I just won two club championships, not even senior, but two regular club championships,” he boasted.
“To do that, you have to be very smart and have the ability to hit the ball a long distance. And I can do that, he can’t. He can’t hit a ball 50 yards.”
Biden responded by saying he would be happy to take on Trump in a “driving contest.”
“When I was vice president, I lowered my handicap to six,” he said, before attacking Trump, who is often photographed on his own golf courses in a golf cart with a caddie always nearby.
‘And by the way, I’ve told you before, I’ll be happy to play golf if you carry your own bag. Do you think you can do it?’
Trump mocked Biden’s disadvantage.
Trump and Biden exchanged sarcastic comments about golf. In the image, Trump is seen at his golf course in West Palm Beach
President Joe Biden sits in a golf cart as he golfs with his brother Jimmy Biden, left, at Andrews Air Force Base in June 2023.
Last year, Biden was leading Trump, but the former president has since taken the lead. Trump now has a six-point lead, according to our exclusive poll.
“That’s the biggest lie of all: that he has a handicap of six,” he said.
As if none of that were childish enough, when Trump added, “Let’s not act like children,” Biden replied, “You’re a child.”
Trump’s love of golf is well known. He often played during winter weekends at Mar-a-Lago in Florida or during summer vacations at Bedminster, his golf course in New Jersey.
Some of his more lively White House appearances included visits from golf great Tiger Woods, and in 2018 he played at his West Palm Beach golf course with legend Jack Nicklaus.
Biden plays less frequently, but is a member of Fieldstone Golf Club near his home in Delaware.
To test what voters thought about the abilities of both candidates, JL Partners surveyed 1,000 likely voters online. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 points.