Voters are increasingly concerned about President Joe Biden’s cognitive fortitude after Thursday’s debate against Donald Trump, a new CBS News/YouGov poll published Sunday indicates. On June 9, 65% of respondents told the network that Biden does not have the mental and cognitive health to be president. Following the debate, that percentage jumped to 72%.
A February 2024 poll showed that 63% of voters believed Biden should not be running for president. Following the debate, that percentage also rose to 72%.
Biden isn’t the only candidate who didn’t fare well following his performance — 49% of registered voters also believe Donald Trump doesn’t have the mental and cognitive health to be president.
After the debate, 42% of Democrats polled said they do not believe Biden should be running for president. At the top of the list of concerns that those voters have about Biden: his age, which 86% cited as a reason he should not run for president. The list also included decisions he might make in office (71%), his record as president (66%) and the ability to campaign effectively (59%).
Trump, on the other hand, appeared to have met or exceeded the expectations of Republicans the network polled. Nearly half of all registered Republican voters believe Trump presented his ideas clearly — 46% believe he appeared presidential, 44% reported he inspired confidence and 43% said he explained plans and policies — despite clear examples from the debate in which Trump lied or distorted facts.
Though some outlets have called for Biden to step aside and allow another Democrat to run in his place, he’s insisted that he will stay in the race. At a campaign rally in North Carolina on Friday, Biden said, “I know I’m not a young man. I don’t walk as easily as I used to. I don’t talk as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to, but i know what I do know: I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong. And I know how to do this job, I know how to get things done. And I know what millions of Americans know: When you get knocked down, you get back up.”
