Survey: Majority of Americans Believe Biden is Too Old for Another Term

A recent ABC News/Ipsos poll has revealed that an overwhelming 86 percent of Americans believe President Joe Biden, 81, is too old to serve another term in the White House. The survey, conducted on Feb. 9 and 10, following a report from special counsel Robert Hur describing Biden as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” also highlighted that 59 percent of respondents feel both Biden and former President Donald Trump, 77, are too old for the office. Twenty-seven percent said only Biden is too old, while 3 percent said only Trump is too old. The poll, which included 528 adults aged 18 or older, carries a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

This data is a significant blow to the Biden campaign, which has been striving to dispel doubts about the president's capacity to effectively serve another term, especially in light of Hur’s report. The investigation, assigned to look into Biden’s potential mishandling of classified documents last year, raised concerns regarding the President's mental acuity, noting that his memory "appeared to have significant limitations" and that "he did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died" in 2015. Additionally, it was alleged that Biden struggled to recall the details of his time as Vice President and a debate about sending additional troops to Afghanistan.

The poll, conducted after the report was made public, suggests a possible impact on voters' perception of the President. Concerns about both Biden and Trump's age seem to have escalated since September, when 74 percent of respondents in an ABC News/Washington Post poll expressed belief that Biden was too old for reelection.

In response to the report’s depiction of Biden, the President's surrogates and campaign officials are aggressively working to reject the notion that he lacks the capacity to fulfill the duties of the office. Biden campaign co-chair Mitch Landrieu dismissed the idea, calling it "a bucket of BS that’s so deep, your boots will get stuck in it." He drew parallels to FBI Director James Comey’s comments in 2016 about Hillary Clinton, labeling them as "cheap shots."

Similarly, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas refuted the report’s description, emphasizing that Biden is "sharp, intensely probing, detail-oriented, and focused" during meetings. The survey and subsequent reactions allude to the growing debate about age and mental acuity in American politics, particularly concerning the eligibility of presidential candidates to serve in office.