WASHINGTON – A majority of registered voters believe President Joe Biden is not mentally or cognitively healthy enough to serve a second term as president, following his shaky performance in last week’s debates, according to a new poll.
A national CBS/You Gov poll conducted a few days after the debate found that 72% of voters believe Biden is not in good enough mental or cognitive health to serve as president, along with nearly half of his own party, up 7 points from early June.
Forty-nine percent of voters said they believe former President Donald Trump is not mentally or cognitively capable of assuming the role of commander in chief again.
Biden has faced questions from voters about his age for months, but his raspy voice, halting responses and occasional blank stare during his showdown with Trump last Thursday further fueled concerns about his ability to serve as president.
The latest poll numbers are likely to add fuel to calls for Biden, 81, to withdraw from the presidential race and allow Democrats to nominate another candidate.
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Biden has said he has no plans to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race, and national Democratic leaders, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania), have increasingly rejected the idea that Biden should step aside.
According to a poll released Sunday, these leaders appear to be out of sync with the average Democrat.
The CBS/YouGov poll found that the share of Democrats who say Biden shouldn’t run for president again has risen by 10 percentage points since February. The main reasons voters said Biden should step aside included his age, the decisions he would make while in office and his ability to campaign effectively.
The poll surveyed 1,130 voters nationwide and has a margin of error of +/- 4.2 percentage points.
