An increasing number of registered voters are anxious about President Joe Biden’s mental and physical fitness to be president, results of a new NBC News survey reveal.
Two-thirds of (68%) of U.S. registered voters are concerned that Biden doesn’t have the “necessary mental and physical health” to run the country, according to a national poll conducted June 16-20 by Hart Research Associates/Public Opinion Strategies.
This represents a 17-point increase from three years earlier.
In an October 2020 poll, conducted just a month before the 2020 presidential election, 51% of registered voters were at least moderately concerned about Biden’s capability to run the country, including 38% who called it a “major” concern.
Today, more than half (55%) of those polled call Biden’s inadequate physical and mental health a “major concern.”
Biden, who is 80 years old and would be 86 at the end of a second term if reelected, has regularly spurred concerns in the media about his state of health after instances of tripping and falling over, as well as stumbling over his words during public comments.
For example, Biden sparked a social media frenzy after a video of him falling off his bike went viral. Similarly, another viral video shows the president toppling after giving a speech at an Air Force Academy graduation ceremony.
Beyond Biden’s physical fitness, there have also been concerns about his mental health, in part due to people noticing his inability to formulate complete, coherent sentences.
While delivering a speech to introduce Supreme Court Justice Kentaji Brown Jackson to the Court, Biden attempted to “define America in one word,” but what he said was unintelligible. Many people took to social media to tease the President. Here is one such example.
In April of this year, Biden attempted to address the public’s growing concerns about his age.
According to NBC News, reporters badgered Biden after a press conference in the Rose Garden to respond to voters’ concerns, in which he told them his age “doesn’t register” with him.
“I can’t even say I guess how old I am, I can’t even say the number. It doesn’t— it doesn't register with me," Biden stated. “I took a hard look at it before I decided to run. And I feel good.”
The NBC News poll also asked about the mental and physical fitness of one of the Republicans seeking to oppose Biden in the 2024 election: former President Donald Trump.
Here, 55% percent of voters say they’re concerned about Trump - 13 points less than the 68% who have concerns about Biden. In October 2020, 51% said they were at least moderately concerned about Trump’s health. Likewise, those calling Trump’s health a major concern has also inched up, from 41% to 44%.