As President Joe Biden’s debate gaffes have some prominent leftists and Democrats calling for him to be replaced, a majority of U.S. voters don’t believe he actually holds power, a new Rasmussen Reports survey has found.
when AskedWhen asked, “Is Joe Biden really doing the job of the president, or are others making decisions on his behalf behind the scenes?”, only 38% of voters said Biden is really doing the job of the president, down from 40% in 2023. In contrast, 52% of respondents said someone else is making decisions on Biden’s behalf behind the scenes, and 10% said they didn’t know.
Joe Biden seems to have gone too far… With Jill Biden away from work, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has instructed him to return to the group. pic.twitter.com/3Iszqr9zki
— Wendell Husebo (@WendellHusebo) June 13, 2024
Among those who say Biden is not doing a good job as president, 39% believe Biden’s senior political advisers are the ones holding the real power in the White House. 10% say the Cabinet is making decisions on behalf of the 81-year-old president. 9% believe First Lady Jill Biden, who appears to be guiding Joe Biden, is actually in charge. 32% believe someone else is steering the ship behind the scenes, and 10% aren’t sure.
VIDEO: As Biden stumbles down the stairs, Jill ushers him onto the stage like a dog owner, allowing him to chat with CNN’s debate moderators.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) June 28, 2024
By party, only 15% of Republicans and 29% of independents believe Biden is truly fulfilling the duties of the presidency. 78% of Republicans, 58% of independents and 23% of Democrats say someone else is making decisions for Biden, while 67% of Democrats believe Biden is in charge.
Rasmussen also asked respondents, “How confident are you that Joe Biden is physically and mentally fit to serve as president of the United States?”
“Only 26% of voters are very confident that Biden is physically and mentally capable of handling the duties of president of the United States.” According to the survey report, “18% said they were somewhat confident in Biden’s abilities, 11% said they were not very confident, and 44% said they had no confidence at all. These results are little changed from July of last year.”
What was that? After a week of rest and preparation, Biden coughs, stumbles and rambles his way through debate
Courtesy of CNN Presidential Debate
The survey found that Democrats have more confidence in Biden’s mental and physical health than Republicans and independents. 74% of Democrats are “at least somewhat confident” that Biden is fit for the presidency, while only 23% of Republicans and 34% of independents share the same opinion. Conversely, 66% of Republicans, 56% of independents, and 11% of Democrats are “not at all confident” that Biden has what it takes to be president of the United States.
Interestingly, the survey found that 53% of voters under the age of 40 are “at least somewhat confident that Biden is physically and mentally capable of handling the duties of president of the United States,” a confidence shared by only 39% of respondents ages 40-64 and 44% of those ages 65 and older.
The survey of 1,103 voters was conducted July 7 through July 9. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.
