Donald Trump would win the US presidency in a race against Joe Biden, a new poll has revealed as the president’s approval rating reached a new low.

The poll is the first by The Wall Street Journal to give Mr Trump the lead in a head-to-head contest with Mr Biden.

It put Mr Trump at 47 per cent support and Mr Biden at 43 per cent.

Mr Biden’s satisfaction rating also plunged to a record low with just 37 per cent of those surveyed saying they were content with his performance

‘People are struggling immensely’

Over the weekend, Dean Phillips, who is challenging Mr Biden for the Democratic nomination, warned that Mr Trump will win the election unless the Democrats put up a fresh face.

“People are quite tired of hearing [from] their president that all is well economically and yet they are struggling immensely,” he told The Telegraph.

His concerns are reflected in the poll, especially among a group classified as “disaffected Democrats”.

Of this cohort, 55 per cent said the Biden administration’s policies had hurt them personally.

Despite unemployment being at its lowest level since 1969, two-thirds of respondents said the economy had worsened over the past two years.

A CBS poll showed that 76 per cent of Americans felt their income was not keeping up with inflation and 62 per cent of respondents said the economy was in a bad state.

Alarmingly for the Democrats, Mr Trump’s lead on Mr Biden grows to six points if a third-party candidate enters the race, according to The Wall Street Journal, which also claims as many as five independents could enter the race and win the support of 17 per cent of voters between them.

Robert Kennedy Jr, who has already announced he is running as an independent, has 8 per cent support according to the newspaper.

Cornel West has also entered the race as a “People’s Party” candidate. He is likely to pull votes away from Mr Biden.

Over the weekend, Joe Manchin, a centrist Democrat senator, hinted that he could also enter the race, albeit light-heartedly at a dinner in Washington.

“I truly believe the American people are ready to pass the torch to a new generation, somebody younger. I’d say maybe someone close to 76 that doesn’t look a day over 70.”

Mr Manchin is one of the names being touted as a potential candidate for the bipartisan “No Labels” group next November.

With polls showing voters to be unenthusiastic over a choice between Mr Biden and Mr Trump, there is growing speculation that the group could put up a centrist ticket with a raft of big names being floated including Larry Hogan, the moderate and popular former governor of Maryland.

A “No Labels” ticket would act as a spoiler and could peel centrist votes away from Mr Biden.

The president is also facing a threat from the party’s Left flank because of his unflinching support for Israel in the war against Hamas.

Earlier this month, Muslim voters in pivotal states threatened to withdraw their support from the US president.

The #AbandonBiden campaign, which is demanding his administration support a ceasefire in Gaza has spread to Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Florida.

Democrat strategists fear the loss of Muslim votes in these states could cost them the election.

The only crumb of comfort for Mr Biden was Mitt Romney, a former Republican candidate, refusing to rule out voting for Mr Biden.

While Mr Trump’s base remains solid, Mr Romney voiced the concerns of centrist Republicans over what kind of administration he might run.

At a recent town hall, Mr Trump rang alarm bells when he said would not be a dictator if he is elected to the White House next year, “except for Day One”.

Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, Mr Romney described Mr Trump as “dangerous for the country”.