More than 6 in 10 US adults doubt Biden’s mental capability

A poll finds that a growing share of US adults doubt that 81-year-old President Joe Biden has the memory and acuity for the job, turning his coming State of the Union address into something of a real-time audition for a second term.

Roughly 6 in 10 say they’re not very or not at all confident in Biden’s mental capability to serve effectively as president, AP reports citing a new survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

That’s a slight increase from January 2022, when about half of those polled expressed similar concerns.

By the same token, nearly 6 in 10 also say they lack confidence in the mental capability of former President Donald Trump, the 77-year-old Republican front-runner.

For many voters, this year’s election looks like a showdown for the world’s toughest job between two men who are well beyond the standard retirement age. The next president will probably need to steer through global conflicts, fix domestic emergencies and work with a dysfunctional Congress.

Biden is likely to address those challenges and more in his State of the Union address on March 7 as he tries to convince Americans that he deserves another term.

Going into the big event, just 38 per cent of US adults approve of how Biden is handling his job as president, while 61 per cent disapprove. Democrats (74 per cent) are much likelier than independents (20 per cent) and Republicans (6 per cent) to favour his performance. But there’s broad discontent on the way Biden is handling a variety of issues, including the economy, immigration and foreign policy.

About 4 in 10 Americans approve of the way Biden is handling each of these issues: health care, climate change, abortion policy and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. But people are less satisfied by Biden’s handling of immigration (29 per cent), the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians (31 per cent) and the economy (34 per cent) — all of which are likely to come up in the speech before a joint session of Congress.

Nearly 6 in 10 (57 per cent) Americans think the national economy is somewhat or much worse off than before Biden took office in 2021. Only 3 in 10 adults say it’s better under his leadership. Still, people are more optimistic about the state of their own bank accounts: 54 per cent say their personal finances are good.

Many respondents to the survey were deeply pessimistic about their likely choices in November because of age and the risk of cognitive decline.