A new Rasmussen survey released Friday says 73 percent of likely voters think President Joe Biden’s age “will be a serious problem” as he tries for re-election in 2024, including almost half who expect it to be a “very serious” problem.
Biden is the oldest serving president, at age 80, and he wants to stay in office for four more years. However, the Washington Times reports, “His age is one of his biggest vulnerabilities as he kicks off his reelection bid.”
According to Rasmussen, 88 percent of Republicans, 70 percent of Independents and 61 percent of Democrats “believe Biden’s age will be at least a somewhat serious problem for his chances of winning reelection in 2024.”
Another revelation in the new poll says only 38 percent of likely voters think Biden is actually in charge. Fifty-five percent think someone else, or maybe several people, are working behind the scenes, making decisions he should be making. Rasmussen broke down the numbers further, explaining, “Thirty-eight percent (38%) of whites, 43% of black voters and 33% of other minorities believe Biden is really doing the job of president. Fifty-three percent (53%) of whites, 47% of black voters and 64% of other minorities think others are making decisions for Biden behind the scenes.”
The survey further noted, “There is almost no “gender gap” on how serious of a problem Biden’s age will be for his reelection chances. Women voters (42%) are more likely than men (33%) to think Biden is actually doing the job of president.”
Rasmussen said the survey of 1,117 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted April 30-May 2. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.
As reported by the Bismarck Tribune, Biden has adopted a strategy of joking about his age.
“He’s cracking self-deprecating jokes and framing his decades in public life as a plus, hoping to persuade voters his age is an asset rather than a vulnerability,” the newspaper reported. “He says he’s served in the Senate for 270 years and that the fourth U.S. president is a good friend.”
