Concerns about President Joe Biden‘s age while he seeks re-election appear to be escalating with the release of a new survey that followed a special counsel report that found the commander-in-chief had memory problems.
Eighty-six percent of adults said Biden, who is 81, is too old to serve a second term in the White House, according to an Ipsos poll unveiled on Sunday.
ABC News, which reported on the results, noted the number is a double-digit jump from its September poll with The Washington Post that found 74% of Americans said that Biden was too old — a finding that at the time marked a 6-point jump since May.
The report also said 73% of Democrats and 91% of independents now think Biden is too old for another term.
Interviews for the latest survey took place on Friday and Saturday, featuring the views of 528 adults and a margin of error for the entire sample of plus-or-minus 4.5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, according to Ipsos.
The poll came after the release of special counsel Robert Hur’s report on Thursday that criticized Biden’s handling of classified documents. Although Hur did not recommend charges, the report said Biden exhibited memory problems that likely would preclude a jury from convicting him.
Already the oldest person to be president, Biden would be 86 at the end of a second term. Biden’s tendency to lose his train of thought while speaking, along with moments caught on camera where he has tripped or fallen over, have spurred questions about his ability to lead effectively.
Biden responded to Hur’s report in an impromptu press conference in which he insisted that his memory is “fine” and then mixed up world leaders.
The new Ipsos poll indicated that the age issue is less prevalent when it comes to former President Donald Trump, the 77-year-old GOP frontrunner in the 2024 presidential race.
Results showed 62% of adults said Trump is too old to serve a second term. ABC News said 35% of Republicans and 71% of independents think Trump is too old for a second term. And 59% of respondents said Biden and Trump are both too old for a second term.
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Nikki Haley, who is 52 and also running for the GOP presidential nomination, began her campaign last February by pushing for mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old.
In an appeal to voters who are dreading a potential 2020 rematch between Trump and Biden, Haley has taken to calling them “grumpy old men.”
Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is 70, sought to show off his fitness last year in videos showing him bench pressing and doing pushups.