What Trump's narrow edge over Biden could mean for campaign after president ends re-election bid

Former President Trump has a narrow edge over President Biden after the 46th president’s disastrous debate performance last month, a Fox News poll found, but the election cycle was thrown into disarray Sunday when Biden announced he won’t seek re-election. 

"It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term," Biden said in his letter posted to X on Sunday afternoon. 

Biden was ahead by two points last month (50%-48%), and now Trump is ahead by 1 point (49%-48%), which is also exactly where things stood in May, a Fox News national survey published last week found. 

Democrat strategist Julian Epstein told Fox News Digital that a "ham sandwich" would likely perform better in polls than Biden when asked how Trump would fare against a candidate other than the president.

WHAT COMES NEXT FOR DEMOCRATS AFTER BIDEN'S CAMPAIGN SUSPENSION?

President Biden and Vice President Harris (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/File)

"At this point, a ham sandwich would probably have a greater likelihood of success in the general election than Biden," he said. "There are generic polls out there that suggest a young candidate versus Trump does well."

"If the Democrats were smart, they would find a younger, attractive governor [in] their 40s or 50s who was in the political center. But Democrats being smart in the circumstance is giving them a huge benefit of the doubt," Epstein added.

READ IT: BIDEN DROPS OUT OF 2024 RACE WITH LETTER

Biden endorsed Harris shortly after his announcement. Other Democrats such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have been floated as viable candidates.

Harris appears to be the likely replacement for Biden as she gains additional endorsements from heavy-hitting Democrats such as former President Clinton and Hillary Clinton.

Harris notably has a lower favorability rating than Trump, according to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll. Trump recorded his highest favorability rating in the history of the poll at 40%, up from the low to mid 30% range the former president typically hovered in the poll. Harris received a lower favorability than Trump at 35%.

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Sen. JD Vance, left, former President Trump and Lara Trump, co-chair of the Republican National Committee, are shown during the Republican National Convention at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on July 18, 2024. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Fox News Digital asked Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene during the RNC in Milwaukee last week if a candidate other than Biden would diminish Trump’s shot at the White House, which she shot down, arguing that whoever takes the mantle will have to run on Biden’s record in the White House.

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"No matter who they put at the top of the ticket, that candidate has to run with the job record that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have brought the several past years, because Democrats are fully aligned behind those policies," Greene said.

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"I think America really came to one mindset and got resolved behind President Trump and behind the Republican Party after seeing him almost assassinated on Saturday. It's a moment that everyone will always remember where they were when that happened, similar to 9/11. Everyone remembers where they were when that happened. I also think people are just really fed up with the border invasion that's happening every day. The fact that people can't afford food, can't afford rent and inflation is really crippling a lot of people," she added.

Harris has a long history as a California liberal stalwart, serving as San Francisco’s district attorney in the early 2000s, then serving as the state attorney general under former Democrat Gov. Jerry Brown, and U.S. senator from the Golden State before her 2020 election as vice president.

If Harris takes up the party’s 2024 presidential election mantle, it is unlikely Harris’ policies would drastically differ from Biden’s platforms, though she could swing harder to the left on issues such as immigration, abortion and foreign policy.

Three Democrat delegates expressed support for Harris in comments to Fox News Digital on Sunday, with one saying the party is "100% supporting Kamala Harris."

Vice President Harris (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

"I can tell you that the delegation in Florida that I'm speaking with ... people are 100% on board following President Biden's endorsement of Kamala Harris," said Samantha Hope Herring, a Democrat delegate and elected member of the DNC from Florida.

Echoing Herring, Karl Gentles, a Democrat delegate from Arizona, told Fox he supports Harris and will vote for her at the party's convention.

"While it is disappointing news that Biden has decided to not seek re-election, he has demonstrated that leadership starts with putting country first above all else. He understands what’s at stake for the future of our country and the imperative of winning this election," he said. "I support VP Harris and will be casting my vote for her at the DNC Convention."

Trump responded to the news of Biden dropping out by slamming him as the "worst president" in U.S. history.

"He is the worst president in the history of our country," Trump told Fox News Digital in a phone interview on Sunday afternoon. "There has never been a president so bad."

"He is not fit to serve," Trump continued. "And I ask: Who is going to be running the country for the next five months?" 

Trump added in comments to CNN on Sunday that he believes defeating Harris, if she emerges as the official nominee, would be an easier feat than defeating Biden in November.

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Just two days before the RNC kicked off, Trump survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. The shooting injured Trump and two others and killed 50-year-old local father Corey Comperatore.

Former President Trump survived an assassination attempt during a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024. (Trump Campaign Office/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Epstein said that for Democrats, Biden "is only half their problem."

"The other half is that the American people don't like the results of their governing for the last four years. That's true on every single issue other than abortion," he said.

He argued that with Democrats "course correcting," they "shouldn't half-a-- it with a stand-in for Biden. They should do a complete correction and find the political center with the younger candidate." 

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Calls had mounted for weeks that Biden should drop out of the race after his disastrous debate performance against Trump on June 27, when he stumbled over his responses and appeared much more subdued in his demeanor than during other public events.

Fox News Digital's Michael Lee contributed to this report.