Only a Third Confident in Biden’s Mental/Physical Stamina, Nearly Half Believe He Could Be Replaced in New Poll

A new poll shows only a third of voters are “confident” in President Joe Biden’s physical and mental stamina, and nearly half believe it’s at least somewhat likely that he will get replaced as the Democratic Party’s nominee.

Donald Trump scored slightly better on confidence in his mental and physical stamina, despite being just a few years younger than the president (81 vs. 77, respectively) in the Monmouth University study, as 51% said they were confident in the former president. Only 32% have the same confidence in Biden, according to the data.

Those numbers change drastically, of course, when broken down across partisan lines. For Biden, only 2% of Republicans said they were confident in the president’s stamina, and that number jumps to 72% among Democrats. For Trump, 90% of Republicans are confident, and just 12% of Democrats agree. Trump scored better among Independents, with 57% expressing confidence in him and 20% saying the same about Biden.

Trump recently claimed his public gaffes have been intentional, while Biden has joked about his advanced age amid growing criticism.

The survey also showed a significant number of people who believe there’s a chance Biden and Trump both don’t end up making it to the November ticket. Nearly half (48%) believe Biden is very likely or somewhat likely to be replaced as the Democratic Party’s nominee. For Trump, 32% believe it’s very or somewhat likely that his legal troubles lead to him not being the Republican nominee, despite his primary wins thus far.

On overall support in a head-to-head match, both Biden and Trump pulled 30% of “definite” voters. Another 14% said they would “probably” vote for Biden, and 16% said the same about Trump. The rest are “probably” or “definitely” not supporting either candidate.

Monmouth’s poll was conducted February 8-12 with a national sample of more than 900 adults through phone and online surveys and has a maximum margin of error of 4.3%.

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