The first national poll regarding President Joe Biden’s mental and physical health since the release of special counsel Robert Hur’s report shows that an overwhelming majority of Americans believe Biden would be unfit to serve another term.
According to an ABC News/Ipsos poll taken after the release of the report, 86% of Americans believe that Biden is too old to be reelected. Biden is currently 81 and will be 86 at the end of another term.
A similar poll taken by NBC News before the release of the special counsel’s report found that almost 90% of Americans, including a large majority of Democrats, have significant concerns about the president’s age.
Polling over the last year has also consistently shown that there is far less concern among the general public regarding the age and fitness of former President Donald Trump.
An NBC News poll shows 62% of voters have "major concerns" about Pres. Biden's age whereas only 34% have "major concerns" about fmr. Pres. Trump's age.@GalenDruke has more. pic.twitter.com/5TNtj8ngkh
— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) February 9, 2024
Large majorities in previous polls stated that they believe that Biden does not have the mental or physical health needed for another four years in the White House.
Hur’s report declined to pursue charges against Biden for his alleged retention of classified documents after his tenure as vice president. The special counsel cited a number of potential obstacles, including Biden’s memory.
The special counsel wrote that Biden struggled to remember basic elements of his life, including when he was vice president and when his son Beau Biden died.
The special counsel wrote that if the case made it to trial, Biden would likely frame himself as a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
Following the release of the report, the president held a news event in which he struggled with some of his words and confused the nations of Mexico and Egypt.
In addition, after the release of the report and the press conference, some Republicans and Democrats have called for a transition away from Biden. Some seek for him not to be the Democratic Party’s nominees while Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) said that the presidential Cabinet should invoke the 25th Amendment and hand authority to Vice President Kamala Harris.
