OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
President Joe Biden’s age has become one of his biggest drawbacks, as poll after poll has shown most Americans, as well as a significant number of Democrats, believe he’s too old to serve a second four-year term.
According to a new survey, almost half of voters believe that he won’t ultimately be the party’s nominee and that someone else will take his place before the election.
According to a new Monmouth University poll released Thursday, which was conducted between Feb. 8 and Feb. 12, 48 percent of respondents think that Biden will be replaced before the election. Meanwhile, 32 percent said they think former President Donald Trump won’t ultimately be the GOP nominee because of his ongoing legal troubles.
“The voters that think Biden will be replaced generally cited concerns about his age, physical health, and mental stamina as reasons for why,” USA Today reported, citing the survey.
Questions surrounding Biden’s age and mental acuity have been an issue for Biden throughout his presidency, but concerns have only increased after special counsel Robert Hur released a damning report that described the president as a “well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.”
“The Hur report doesn’t seem to have shifted public opinion on whether Biden mishandled classified documents. At the same time, it probably has done more to reinforce existing views of Biden’s physical and mental vigor. When we asked a different question about each candidate’s age back in the fall, there was already a wide gap in concern about Biden compared with Trump,” Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, noted in a statement along with the survey.
USA Today added:
Most voters who think Trump will be replaced cited his legal troubles, while a few mentioned his health.
Trump currently faces 91 felony charges across four indictments for his alleged efforts in trying to overturn the 2020 election, mishandling classified documents, and falsifying business records. He also faces numerous civil lawsuits.
However, in total, 51% of voters are at least somewhat confident in Trump’s ability to fulfill presidential responsibilities, while only 32% express confidence in Biden.
This signifies a change from 2020 when 45% were confident in Trump’s stamina, and 52% were confident in Biden’s stamina, the Monmouth survey noted.
Even before Hur’s report documenting Biden’s diminished mental capacity and lack of memory came out earlier this month, an eyewitness who interacted with the president in person reported that she was “shocked” by his condition.
Fox News host Laura Ingraham discussed Hur’s findings with contributor and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, noting at one point during the segment that Democrats were already refuting Hur’s characterizations of Biden’s mental capacity by remarkably claiming that he did not display any shortcomings in their presence.
Ingraham noted that Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) claimed to CNN that he had not seen any signs that Biden had “poor memory,” while Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said, “I’ve talked to him for hours on end as recently as a couple of months ago,” going on to say he is “as sharp as ever.”
“I mean, Newt, come on,” Ingraham said, before adding:
I have it on good authority…a friend of mine was in the White House a couple of weeks ago, and she is not a Trump fan, let me just say this… She was up close and personal with the president, and was shocked — her words were ‘shocked’ about his state.
WATCH:
Laura Ingraham drops a bombshell: Reveals that a close friend of hers visited the White House days ago and saw Biden firsthand.
Her friend described Biden's declined mental state as no less than "shocking."
Shame on the Biden family for subjecting us to this. pic.twitter.com/JD4y6RVqt4
— USA Features Media (@UsaFeatures) February 9, 2024
