Majority of voters say Joe Biden does not have ‘mental sharpness’ to serve as president: Poll
Ryan King
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A majority of voters are feeling uneasy about President Joe Biden‘s physical and mental capability to serve another four years in the White House.
The poll spells trouble all around for Biden, which highlights voters’ concerns about his age, and sees him trailing his top GOP 2024 rival, former President Donald Trump. Only 32% of voters felt that Biden had the “mental sharpness” to serve as president, while 54% believed Trump does.
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When asked about who they prefer in 2024, 44% of voters opted for Trump, while 38% went for Biden, and 18% were undecided, according to a Washington Post-ABC News survey. If Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) was the GOP nominee, 42% would back him, compared to 37% Biden, echoing most polls finding DeSantis a tougher foe.
With that new poll factored in, Trump now maintains a 1-point lead over Biden in the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate, but historically, he has trailed his potential 2024 general election foe. DeSantis touts a 1.6-point lead over Biden in that aggregate.
One of Trump’s main advantages among respondents is a favorable perception of his stewardship over the economy. Some 53% of voters said that Trump performed stronger on economics, compared to 38% who argued that Biden did.
Moreover, 62% said that Biden is not physically healthy enough to serve, with only 33% believing he is. Meanwhile, only 28% percent of voters said they believed Trump is not physically fit to serve, with 65% saying he is.
The White House released a summary of Biden’s physical earlier this year, concluding Biden remains “fit for duty.” Overall, Biden, 80, received a clean bill of health in the report, which noted he has some conditions he was receiving treatment for, including hyperlipidemia and gastroesophageal reflux.
Twenty-six percent of voters felt only Biden was too old, compared to 1% who said only Trump is too old. Forty-six percent decided both were too old, and 28% said neither. Biden has grappled with questions about his age throughout his presidency. He would be 82 at the start of a second hypothetical term and 86 by its conclusion.
“I can’t even say the number,” Biden said about his age last month. “It doesn’t register with me. But the only thing I can say is that one of the things that people are going to find out is, they’re going to see a race, and they are going to judge whether or not I have it or don’t have it.”
One setback for Trump is that a robust majority of respondents concluded that he violated the law on multiple fronts. On the classified document ordeal, 53% to 39% felt he should be indicted. For his role in efforts to overturn the 2020 election, 55% to 39% determined he should face charges. And for his role in the Jan. 6 riot, 54% to 41% said he should face charges.
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Trump is currently facing a 34-count criminal indictment for his role in an alleged “catch and kill” scheme during the 2016 election cycle that included paying off porn star Stormy Daniels, who claimed she had an affair with him. He is also facing a lawsuit from gossip columnist E. Jean Carroll. Trump has denied wrongdoing across the board.
The poll was conducted between April 28 and May 3 among 1,006 adults with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.