Two-thirds of even Dems say Biden too old for another term: bipartisan poll

Even two-thirds of Democrats say President Biden is too old for a second term, as the 80-year-old commander-in-chief remains tied with Donald Trump in a potential matchup, a new bipartisan poll shows.

The Wall Street Journal survey published Monday found that 73% of registered voters — including two-thirds of Democrats — believe Biden is too elderly to run again for the presidency. Just 47% say the same of the 77-year-old Trump.

The poll, which surveyed 1,500 registered voters, shows that if the election were held tomorrow, the race would be a dead heat at 46% apiece for each candidate, with 8% undecided — even after Trump was criminally indicted for a fourth time.

Those figures nearly mirror the New York Times’ first poll involving the 2024 election at the start of August.

“Voters are looking for change, and neither of the leading candidates is the change that they’re looking for,” said Democratic pollster Michael Bocian, who with Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio helped conduct the survey Aug. 24 to Aug. 30, to the outlet.

Just 36% of the latest poll’s voters say they believe Biden is mentally fit for office, while 46% say the same of Trump.

Fifty-one percent say Trump has a strong record of accomplishments, whereas 40% say Biden does.

The majority of those voters polled say they disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy (59%), inflation (63%), securing the border (63%), dealing with China (55%) and the war in Ukraine (52%).

Only 28% say the economy has improved during the last two years — and 58% say it has gotten worse.

Still, Biden is seen by registered voters as more likable (48%) and honest (45%) than Trump (31% and 38%, respectively).

“If this race is about personality and temperament, then Biden has an advantage,” Fabrizio said.

“If this race is about policies and performance, then Trump has the advantage,” said the pollster, who also runs polling for the Trump-aligned super PAC MAGA Inc.

Besides the economy and immigration, the voters list abortion as the third most important issue for the 2024 election, according to the poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

The Journal’s poll came after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis slapped Trump with his fourth indictment this year for allegedly trying to overturn 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.

Special counsel Jack Smith has twice federally indicted the former president: for allegedly attempting to reverse the 2020 election in Washington, DC, and for retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg also hit Trump with business fraud charges for a series of “hush money” payments he made through his legal fixer to a porn star before the 2016 election.

Trump faces 91 charges and a maximum of 712 years and six months in prison across all four indictments.

In The Journal poll, 37% say those indictments make them less likely to vote for Trump, and 24% say it made them more likely to vote for him. Thirty-five percent say the charges had no effect on their vote.

More voters are aware of Trump’s legal issues (83%) than those of the president’s son Hunter Biden (66%), according to the poll.

The first son is expected to head to trial for charges related to his overseas business dealings, as congressional Republicans are probing how involved his father was in the affairs while serving as vice president.

House Republicans have drummed up support in their caucus for launching an impeachment inquiry in recent weeks after IRS whistleblowers alleged political interference in the five-year investigation into Hunter Biden.

Fifty-two percent of registered voters oppose impeaching Biden, according to the poll, while 41% were in favor of it.