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By Andrew Stanton
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Former President Donald Trump may have just had the best week of his political life.
Trump is set to face off against President Joe Biden in the November presidential election and has faced several weeks of potentially troubling news.
In May, a New York jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business documents to cover up a hush money payment made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels, though he maintains his innocence and has vowed to appeal. In the weeks that followed, polls showed a small, but potentially notable, decline in his support.
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However, his fortunes appeared to reverse this week following a spade of positive polling, and as Americans view him as the winner of the presidential debate against Biden that took place Thursday night.
Newsweek reached out to the Trump and Biden campaigns for comment via email.
Trump Won Debate, According to CNN Flash Poll
Trump sparred with Biden over issues including the economy, immigration and abortion during Thursday night's debate, but viewers quickly noticed that Biden had a rough start. His voice sounded hoarse, and he appeared to mumble through several answers through the night, doing little to quell concerns about his age to swing voters.
The narrative that followed the debate was that Trump was more energetic than Biden, dispelling concerns raised by some Democrats about his age. Biden is facing calls from many Democrats to step aside from the race, while Republicans have cheered Trump's performance.
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A CNN flash poll conducted shortly after the debate found that a substantial majority of viewers, including Democrats, believe Trump won; 67 percent said Trump had a better performance, while 33 percent said Biden won.
Only 53 percent of Democrats said Biden did a better job than Trump in addressing concerns about whether he is fit to serve another four-year term.
Still, Trump has faced his share of critiques over his debate performance, as well.
CNN's fact-checking team found that he made 30 false statements throughout the night about a range of topics including falsely claiming that Democrats support abortion post-birth, that there were no terror attacks during his presidency and that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi turned down an offer of 10,000 National Guard troops ahead of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots.
CNN noted that Trump made "far more" false statements than Biden.
Despite calls to step aside, the Biden campaign has dismissed concerns about his age. Biden said he believes he did well, while Vice President Kamala Harris characterized his performance as a "slow start" but "strong" finish in a CNN interview after the debate.
Trump Led Biden in Pre-Debate Polls
Even before the debate, several polls delivered good news for Trump after Biden narrowly closed the gap last week.
A New York Times/Siena College poll of 1,226 likely voters, conducted from June 20 to 25, found Trump leading by about three percentage points in the national popular vote, which could translate into leads in the key swing states that will determine the outcome of the election.
Elsewhere, a Quinnipiac University poll conducted among 1,405 registered voters from June 20 to 24 found Trump leading by four points (49 percent to 45 percent) in a head-to-head matchup.
A YouGov/CBS News poll, conducted from June 17 to 21 among 1,878 likely voters, found Trump leading by one point (50 percent to 49 percent).
Meanwhile, one recent poll showed Biden with a lead.
A Leger/New York Post poll found Biden leading in a head-to-head matchup (43 percent to 41 percent) that poll was conducted from June 22 to 24 among 878 likely voters.
Supreme Court Hands Jan. 6 Defendants Win, But Implications for Trump Unclear
On Friday, just hours after the debate, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a ruling in a key case surrounding the January 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol building, when a group of Trump supporters violently protested the results of the 2020 election, which Trump has claimed was stolen via widespread voter fraud, despite a lack of evidence.
The court narrowed the scope of the federal obstruction statute used in many of the prosecutions related to the riot, including against the former president.
The ruling could have implications for the federal election interference case against Trump, though the extent to which it could affect the case remains unclear.
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Newsweek on Friday, "The Fischer ruling is great news for Trump, just one day after his decisive win in the presidential debate. The majority of the justices ruled that a criminal defendant must obstruct documents or records related to an official proceeding."
He continued, "The question for the lower courts now is does the Capitol rioters trying to stop Congress from certifying the election involve obstruction of documents or records? The same question applies to Trump's fake elector scheme."
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