President Biden is just four years older than former President Donald Trump, but voters are far more concerned about his fitness than President Trump heading into the November election, a new poll finds.
About half of voters responded to Thursday’s survey. Monmouth University Poll (51%) are at least “somewhat confident” that Trump, the 77-year-old Republican front-runner, has the mental and physical stamina to serve another four years in office. Meanwhile, about a third (32%) of voters said the same about the 81-year-old Biden.
Both candidates dismissed concerns about age, even as voters and people on both sides of the aisle are increasingly concerned.
The latest numbers show a significant shift in voter confidence compared to when the two candidates faced off in 2020. At the time, 52% trusted Biden and 45% trusted Trump.
Voters 70 and older were the most confident in the party’s front-runner, with 45% saying they had at least some confidence in Biden’s stamina and 43% saying the same about Trump.
However, a large gap was found among voters under 70, reflecting an overall advantage for Trump on this issue. About half have confidence in President Trump’s stamina (52%), while less than a third (30%) feel the same way about the incumbent.
“What’s interesting is that voters in the same age group as both candidates don’t see a huge difference in physical fitness. But younger voters clearly have different perceptions of the two,” said Monmouth University. Patrick Murray, director of the Institute for Public Opinion Research, said in an analysis of the survey results.
Mr. Trump’s remaining rival in the race for the Republican nomination, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, 52, has repeatedly criticized Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump because of their age, making it a key campaign feature. I’m making it a point.
This month, her team launched a series of “grumpy old man” ads targeting the pair ahead of the general election.
The findings also come after Special Counsel Robert Hur, in a recent report following an investigation into allegations of mishandling of classified documents after he left the White House as vice president, called Biden “a person with a good memory.” It was also announced after he was drawn as “Bad Old Man”.
A sizable portion of voters surveyed by Monmouth said they believe one or both of the front-runners could eventually be replaced by November. Nearly half say Biden may not be able to complete the race as a candidate, and one-third think Republicans may need to replace the former president.
While Biden’s health has been cited as the biggest factor in his chances of succeeding, Trump’s ongoing legal issues may be negatively impacting his chances. This is mentioned.
The Monmouth poll was conducted February 8-12 among 902 adults ages 18 and older. The margin of error is 4.3 percentage points.
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