OPINION | This article contains the author's opinion.
A Wall Street Journal poll reveals that a significant majority of registered voters harbor concerns about President Joe Biden’s age and mental fitness, raising questions about his ability to run for president.
When respondents were asked to evaluate Biden’s suitability for the presidency based on his age, 73 percent expressed the view that he is “too old to run for President.”
Among them, 54 percent believed this description applied “very well,” while 19 percent considered it “somewhat well.”
This stark perception contrasted with former President Trump, who, at 77 years old, is three years younger than Biden at 80; only 47 percent deemed Trump “too old” to run for President.
Even among Democrats, concerns about Biden’s age were evident, with “two-thirds of Democrats” sharing the sentiment that he is “too old to run again.”
Another dimension of the poll assessed Biden’s mental fitness for the job of president. Disturbingly, 49 percent of respondents disagreed with the statement that Biden is “mentally up for the job as president,” while an additional 11 percent were not entirely convinced.
Similarly, many doubted Biden’s ability to relate to the general populace, with a majority at least somewhat disagreeing that he “cares about people like you.”
Half of the respondents did not believe that the term “honest” accurately describes Biden.
The WSJ poll also compared Biden to former President Donald Trump. Trump was seen as having a record of accomplishments by 51 percent of respondents, whereas only 40 percent thought the same of Biden.
Trump was perceived as having a clearer vision for the future by an eight-point margin. Ten points more voters described Trump as mentally fit for the presidency compared to Biden, with 46 percent believing Trump possesses this quality, as opposed to 36 percent for Biden.
These sentiments align with polling from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, where 77 percent of respondents from across the political spectrum agreed that Biden is too old to be effective in a second term.
The WSJ poll, conducted from August 24 to August 30, 2023, involved 1,500 registered voters. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump continues to voice criticism of the Biden administration on Truth Social, emphasizing the growing legal challenges Biden faces.
Trump warned that the political landscape has adopted a “cheap and dirty” approach and urged caution about the direction of American politics.