How sustainable is Joe Biden's re-election bid? According to a new poll, a majority of Americans, and a great many of Biden's own voters, support using the 25th Amendment to force him out.
If removed, Biden would be replaced by Vice President Kamala Harris, who has been eyed by Biden's growing Democratic skeptics as a potentially more electable option.
The Redfield & Wilton Strategies Poll found that 51% of eligible voters would support using the 25th Amendment to force Biden out.
Democrats are divided, but a plurality of 41% would support using the 25th Amendment, compared to 34% against.
The 25th Amendment allows the vice president to take over if the president is certified as "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office" by the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet.
While there has long been chatter on the right about Biden and the 25th Amendment, such speculation only recently entered the mainstream with Biden's disastrous debate performance on CNN. Democrats have been in a constant state of panic since then.
Biden has faced mounting pressure from Democratic allies to quit, but he has responded with defiance, casting critics as against democracy because he won his party's primary.
However, Biden's critics can cite polling data as evidence that public opinion evolves, and Biden is losing support from his own voters.
The Redfield & Wilton Strategies also found that 56% of Biden's past voters want him to end his campaign. And while Biden dismisses his debate as only one bad night, 60% of Americans have more concerns about his fitness than they did before the debate.
Donald Trump has been relishing the chaos that has engulfed Democrats, while stepping up attacks on Harris as Biden's woes mount. In a Truth Social post, Trump stoked speculation of a plot by Barack Obama to replace Biden with Harris.
"OBAMA AND BIDEN HATE EACH OTHER! OBAMA NEVER RESPECTED BIDEN, THOUGHT HE WAS DUMB, AND A TOTAL LIGHTWEIGHT. WILL BE AN INTERESTING COUPLE OF WEEKS. OBAMA WANTS HIM OUT, WANTS V.P. HARRIS IN!" Trump wrote.
For now, Republicans continue to be the loudest voices advocating the use of the 25th Amendment. But ironically, it might be better for Democrats if Biden were finally forced into retirement.
