More than three-fourths of U.S. adults think Pres. Joe Biden is too old to serve another term, results of a new Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs poll reveal.
Asked if Biden is “too old to effectively serve another 4-year term as president,” 77% say he is.
Even two-thirds of Democrats (69%) think Biden’s too old – but, 82% of all Democrats say they’d still support his reelection, if he’s their party’s candidate for president in 2024.
Asked “What is the first word or phrase that comes to mind when you think of” Pres. Biden, a quarter (26%) of U.S. adults used terms that describe Biden as being too old.
In a similar word-association question asked by Associated Press-NORC in February of 2020, 16% used words like “Old (also past their prime/retire)/obsolete/grandpa or ma.”
In the latest survey, 41% of adults cite either Biden’s advanced age or types of diminished capacity that could be attributed to advanced age, as the first thing that comes to mind about him:
- 26%: Old/Outdated/Retire/Elderly/Aging/Senile/Dementia
- 15%: Slow/Confused/Idiot/Ignorant/Sleepy/Gaffe/Bumbling
- 13%%: General Negativity (bad/terrible/disappointing/joke/profanity)
- 6%: Corrupt/Criminal/Crooked/Compromised/Traitor/Con artist/Puppet
One Republican said the word “potato” came to mind when he thinks of Biden, while a Democrat who approves of Biden’s job performance said “senile” pops into his head.
Biden became the oldest president ever to serve, when he was inaugurated in January 2021. By the end of a second term, he would be 86.
The national survey of U.S. adults was conducted August 10-14, 2023.