52% of voters don’t think Biden, 79, will run in 2024 but 49% say Trump will, new poll
American voters believe the odds of Donald Trump mounting a 2024 bid is far likelier than President Joe Biden seeking a second term, according to a new poll.
More than half of the respondents to a Wall Street Journal survey released late last week believe the commander-in-chief, 79, will not run for office again despite his stated intention to do so.
Some who spoke to the outlet believe the highest office in the land is ‘taking its toll’ on the aging leader, who would be 82 by the time the next inauguration rolls around.
Fifty-two percent of respondents said they don’t believe Biden will run for re-election, compared to 29 percent who think he will. Those who aren’t sure made up 19 percent of responses.
Speculation about Trump presents nearly a mirror image — 49 percent of voters surveyed think the ex-president will run for a third time. Twenty-seven percent believe he will not.
The largest gap is with those who don’t know. Nearly a quarter of Americans can’t decide if they think Trump will run for a third term.
If Biden were to run for president and win, he would set a new record for the oldest person ever sworn into the White House. It beats his previously-held record of taking the oath of office at 78. Before him, Trump took the title when he became president at the age of 70.
The majority of American voters surveyed said they don’t think Biden will seek re-election — despite expressing the intention to do so
Conversely, nearly the same amount of people — 49% — think Trump will run for a third time
Ronald Regan was 69 when he was sworn in — setting the benchmark as oldest president for nearly four decades until the septuagenarians were elected.
The Journal’s poll featured a hypothetical rematch between Biden and Trump that saw them deadlocked at 45 percent of the vote each.
Even Biden’s fairly lauded State of the Union address failed to do much for his high disapproval rating, which as of March is 57 percent. His job approval rating more than a year into his term is just 42 percent — a figure that’s held steady from the last time the survey was taken in November.
It comes as even Democrats, with whom Biden still enjoys majority support, express concerns about the president’s fitness for office.
One unnamed lawmaker confessed to the Journal that the president’s party was simply relieved his big speech to Congress earlier this month was gaffe-free.
‘Everybody was very pleasantly surprised with the State of the Union address and breathed a sigh of relief when it was over,’ they said.
The two septuagenarians are deadlocked at 45% each in a hypothetical matchup — similar to past polls on the matter
A 55-year-old woman from Pennsylvania told the outlet she supports Biden but was more hesitant when asked if he should run again.
‘I just don’t know. He’s getting up there. I don’t know if it’s the best step for the Democratic Party,’ she said.
That opinion was also shared by a 20-year-old University of Wisconsin college student.
‘You can run for president at 35. I don’t know why we would need the president to be over 75,’ she said.
However, others were more supportive of Biden mounting another campaign.
‘He’s still Joe Biden whose heart is in the right place,’ a Georgia lawmaker said.
Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan also backed him: ‘I do think he’s the same Joe Biden I’ve known for decades.’
Biden’s doctor Kevin O’Conner said in November last year that he ‘remains fit for duty’ after his first presidential physical.
However, the president’s health history — which includes two brain aneurysms and a heart condition which makes the muscle beat too fast — has fueled concerns that he may not be fit for office.
Last month more than three dozen House Republicans are demanding President Joe Biden submits to a cognitive test and outlined their concerns about his fitness for office.
Thirty-seven GOP lawmakers signed onto the letter, written by former White House physician Rep. Ronny Jackson, and cited recent examples of the 79-year-old’s ‘mental decline’ including forgetting numbers and names and hot mic moments.
‘The American people should have absolute confidence in their President. They deserve to know that he or she can perform the duties of Head of State and Commander-in-Chief,’ the letter, obtained by DailyMail.com, states.
‘They deserve full transparency on the mental capabilities of their highest elected leader. To achieve this, we urge you to submit to a cognitive test immediately.’
A recent poll conducted by Politico and Morning Consult found that 49 percent of Americans disagree with the notion that Biden is ‘mentally fit,’ compared to 40 percent who believe he is.
The largest share of respondents, 37 percent, said they ‘strongly disagree’ that Biden is mentally fit.
The number of Americans who expressed concern about Biden’s brain in the mid-January survey is only a one-point uptick from the 48 percent who said the same in November.
But the confidence in him is dropping dramatically — 46 percent said in November that the president is mentally fit, a six-point decline.
The January survey also showed 50 percent of Americans disagreeing with the statement that Biden is ‘in good health.’
Forgetting numbers, confusing Libya and Syria, calling Kamala ‘president’ and hot mic blunders: Biden’s gaffes that have raised health concerns
As the oldest person ever sworn in to the White House, President Joe Biden has faced questions and concerns over his mental as well as physical acuity since taking one one of the most stressful jobs in the world.
But aside from his advanced age, Biden, 79, has worried even supporters with numerous gaffes over the year he’s been in office.
Most recently, Rep. Ronny Jackson pointed out in a letter demanding Biden take a cognitive test that one of the first signs of Alzheimer’s Disease is erratic changes in mood or personality.
January 24, 2022 – Biden calls Peter Doocy a ‘stupid son of a b*****’
‘You displayed this type of mood change during a cabinet meeting on when you apparently did not know your microphone was on after finishing your opening remarks, and you called a White House reporter a “stupid son of a b****”in response to a question asked on inflation,’ Jackson claimed.
He was referring to a hot mic moment in late January during which Biden criticized Fox News reporter Peter Doocy, after which the president personally apologized to the journalist.
Biden has also been known to have trouble with the names of his most senior officials, foreign leaders and even countries.
At last year’s G7 in June, the president bungled the names of Syria and Libya multiple times when discussing security efforts with Russia. The White House was later forced to issue a clarification.
Another embarrassing foreign policy faux pas occurred in September 2021, when Biden appeared to forget the name of Australia’s prime minister — who was appearing via video link right beside him.
While announcing a historic security deal between the UK, US and Australia, Biden told Britain’s Boris Johnson, ‘Thank you, Boris,’ before turning to Australia’s Scott Morrison and saying: ‘And I want to thank that fella down under. Thank you very much pal.’
Biden has seemingly even struggled with names of people he speaks to more regularly. He gave a speech marking International Women’s Day in March of last year, during which he was promoting two female officers to four-star generals.
March 8, 2022 – Slipping and forgetting Lloyd Austin’s name
The president slipped up during the March 8 speech while trying to remember Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s name.
‘I want to thank Sec-, the former general, I keep calling him “General.” My – the guy who runs that outfit over there,’ Biden said, before quickly adding, ‘I want to make sure we thank the secretary for all he’s done.’
A trip to Texas that same month to visit a Houston-area vaccination center saw Biden apparently lose his train of thought and become confused. He even asked, ‘What am I doing here?’ while trying to get himself back on track.
On multiple occasions Biden has also appeared to refer to Vice President Kamala Harris as the ‘president.’ During a commencement speech at South Carolina State University in late December, Biden remarked: ‘Of course, President Harris is a proud Howard alum.’
He made the mistake again more recently, declaring during a voting rights speech in Georgia on January 11 that ‘President Harris and I stood on the United States Capitol.’
Biden has been known to get dates confused as well — in May 2021 he recalled traveling via Amtrak to see his mother while he was vice president in 2013. But his mother had died in 2010.
The apparent issues began long before Biden took the White House. When he was on the campaign trail in September 2020, then-candidate Biden was widely mocked for saying ‘200 million people have died’ from COVID-19 under Donald Trump’s watch. The number was around 200,000 at the time.
And while president, Biden had to be corrected on a statistic regarding COVID-19 vaccinations. During a COVID-19 White House press conference, Biden attempted to say, ’57… excuse me… 570… I don’t want to read it, I’m not sure I got the right number…’ Chief Medical Adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci aided him to say the figure was ’57 million.’
Confusing Libya and Syria
‘I’m hopeful that we can find an accommodation where we can save the lives of people in — for example, in — in Libya,’ the president said, mentioning the north African country for the third time instead of Syria, in the Middle East. Biden is pictured in Cornwall, United Kingdom on June 13
The White House later brushed the confusion off, confirming that it was indeed, Syria, the country where Russia and the US have been involved in a decade-long civil war, which the president was referring to
Biden repeatedly confused Syria with Libya while discussing ways of working with Russia during a press conference at the G7 on June 13.
The 78-year-old gaffe machine spoke of working with Russian President Vladimir Putin to provide economic assistance to the people of Libya, prompting some confused glances from the press pack at the G7 summit in Cornwall, England.
‘I’m hopeful that we can find an accommodation where we can save the lives of people in — for example, in — in Libya,’ the president said, mentioning the north African country for the third time instead of Syria, which is in the Middle East. The White House later brushed the confusion off, confirming that the president was indeed referring to Syria, the country where Russia and the US have been involved in a decade-long civil war.
Tripping while climbing the Air Force One stairs
Over the years, President Joe Biden has made numerous gaffes and mix-ups and has even been caught falling. Pictured: Biden falling while walking up the stairs of Air Force One on March 19
On March 19, he was caught tripping up the stairs as he boarded Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews
On March 19, video captured Biden tripping up the stairs as he boarded Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews.
In the clip, Biden stumbles as he walks up the airstairs. He grabs the hand railing to catch his balance, but then loses his footing two additional times.
During the third stumble, he falls to his knees. However, after brushing off his leg, he reaches the top of the plane and gives a salute before disappearing inside.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre later told reporters that Biden was ‘100 percent fine’ and preparing for his trip in Atlanta.
‘It’s pretty windy outside. It’s very windy. I almost fell coming up the steps myself,’ she said.
Just one day earlier, during a press conference on March 18 (pictured), he referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as ‘President Harris’
Just one day earlier, Biden accidentally referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as ‘President Harris.’
The gaffe occurred during a press conference on March 18, during which he lauded his administration for being close to meeting their goal of 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in his first 100 days in office.
‘Now when President Harris and I took a virtual tour of a vaccination center in Arizona not long ago, one of the nurses on that, on that tour injecting people, giving vaccinations, said that each shot was like administering a dose of hope,’ Biden said.
Harris was standing behind Biden as the president carried on with his speech, but did not correct himself.
Later that day, when the White House released the transcript of his speech, Harris’s proper title was inserted with brackets.
On March 9, while making a speech, Biden seemed to forget the name of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (above)
In a speech on March 9, Biden seemed to fumble with his words and forget the name of his Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
‘I want to thank Sec – the former general – I keep calling him “General,”‘ Biden said.
‘My – the guy who runs that outfit over there. I want to make sure we thank the Secretary for all he’s done to try to implement what we’ve just talked about, and for recommending these two women for promotion.’ The slip-occurred despite the fact that just a few minutes earlier, he had mentioned Austin’s name in the speech without an issue.
On Election Day, in November, Biden introduced a crowd to his granddaughter, but referred to her as his son
During an Election Day speech in Philadelphia, Biden stumbled over his words and confused his granddaughter with his late son, Beau Biden.
Biden told the crowd: ‘I want to introduce you to two of my granddaughters…this is my son, Beau Biden who a lot of you helped elect to the Senate in Delaware.’
The commander-in-chief had meant to introduce the crowed to Natalie, Beau’s daughter, but hadn’t just mixed up the name but the person – he also put his arm around Finnegan Biden, Hunter’s daughter.
He finally corrected himself as he draped his arm around Natalie’s shoulder and said: ‘This is Natalie, this is Beau’s daughter.’
Beau Biden passed away in 2015 after a months-long battle with glioblastoma, one of the deadliest types of brain cancer.
TOLD STATE SENATOR IN WHEELCHAIR TO STAND UP
In 2008, Biden told then-Missouri state senator Chuck Graham to stand up for the crowd at a rally, before realizing he was in a wheelchair
Not all of Biden’s gaffes occurred in the 2020s or even the 2010s. In fact, some happened in the early aughts.
In September 2008, after Biden had been named former President Barack Obama’s running mate, he attended a campaign rally in Missouri.
It was there that he called on then-Missouri state senator Chuck Graham, who passed away last year. to stand up for the crowd.
‘I’m told Chuck Graham, state senator, is here. Stand up Chuck, let ’em see you,’ Biden said.
It was at that moment he realized Graham was in a wheelchair due to muscular dystrophy.
‘Oh, God love you. What am I talking about. I’ll tell you what, you’re making everybody else stand up, though, pal.’
According to the Columbia Tribune, Graham said he was never offended by the mistake.