The majority of Americans believe President Joe Biden's age is interfering with his ability to do his job as president, according to a poll from Fox News conducted this week.
Biden is the oldest person ever to serve as president and will turn 79 on November 20. He will be 81 years old during the next presidential election in 2024.
The poll found that 53 percent of respondents believed that Biden's age is "interfering with his ability to serve effectively as president," but there was a significant partisan divide on the question.
The poll asked respondents for their views on whether Biden's age is interfering with his job performance "regardless of whether you voted for him" and 40 percent of respondents replied that it is not.
Seven percent said they didn't know if Biden's age was affecting his ability to serve.
The survey was conducted from November 14 to 17 among 1,003 registered voters and has a margin of error of 3 percent.
Fox News polling is now conducted under the direction of Beacon Research and Shaw & Company Research and enjoys an A rating from poll tracker FiveThirtyEight - one of the highest ratings it gives.
There has often been speculation about Biden's age and mental acuity, particularly among some of his Republican critics, and suggestions that he may choose not to run for a second term due to his age.
The Fox News poll found that views about Biden's age differ starkly across party lines, with 80 percent of Republicans saying his age interferes with his ability to do his job against 15 percent who said it didn't and 5 percent who said they didn't know.
By contrast, just 28 percent of Democratic respondents said Biden's age was interfering with his job performance, while 63 percent said it wasn't and 9 percent didn't know.
One potentially worrying finding for Biden may be the views of independent voters, 49 percent of whom said his age was interfering with his ability to do his job. Forty-five percent of independents said it wasn't and 7 percent didn't know.
Among Hispanic voters - another key group in any national election - 48 percent said they believed Biden's age was interfering with him doing his job, compared to 41 percent who said it wasn't and 11 percent who didn't know.
However, those who voted for Biden overwhelmingly rejected the idea that his age was a problem. Just 28 percent of his voters said his age interferes with his job as president, while 62 percent said it didn't and 9 percent didn't know.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the opposite was the case for former President Donald Trump's voters, with 81 percent agreeing that Biden's age interferes with his ability to do his job, 15 percent saying it doesn't and just 5 percent answering "don't know."
The former president is younger than Biden at 75-years-old and he will be 78 by November, 2024. He is still seen as the most likely Republican nominee at the next presidential election.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Darragh Roche is a U.S. News Reporter based in Limerick, Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics. He has ... Read more
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