Politics

Biden’s age, mental acuity not among top issues for voters — here’s what is

By
Social Links for Josh Christenson
Published Feb. 14, 2024, 12:21 p.m. ET

President Biden’s record on immigration is the top concern for his critics, a new poll has revealed — just a day after Biden’s Homeland Security chief was impeached over the spiraling border crisis.

About one in five voters (19%) who admitted they didn’t think the 81-year-old commander-in-chief was doing a good job said it was because of his “open borders” policies, according to a new Gallup survey released Wednesday.

The second-biggest concern among Biden detractors was his handling of the economy, with about one in 10 (9%) expressing worry over his economic policies.

A further 5% blamed the president for inflation, which rose 3.1% in January in a hotter-than-expected increase.

The findings are based on a follow-up question to Gallup’s presidential approval question in a January poll — in which respondents were asked to explain why they approve or disapprove of Biden’s job performance.

The initial survey found that just 41% of Americans thought the president was doing a good job — a record low for an incumbent leader at this stage of his presidency, the pollsters noted.

Chart shows what ways respondents disapprove of Joe Biden's performance.
Chart shows what ways respondents disapprove of Joe Biden’s performance.
President Joe Biden speaks on the Senate's recent passage of the National Security Supplemental Bill, which provides military aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, in the State Dining Room of the White House on February 13, 2024 in Washington, DC.
President Biden’s age and mental acuity are not among the top issues for Americans who disapprove of his job performance, a new national poll shows. Getty Images

Biden’s policies are decidedly the biggest issues for critics, according to the Gallup poll, which found that nearly half of Americans (47%) who disapprove of the president’s performance were displeased with policy stances as opposed to the 23% who disliked personal characteristics.

Only 13% mentioned his age or mental and physical infirmity — with 5% saying he was incompetent, 4% saying he was in poor health or was mentally unfit and 4% saying he was too old.

Republican respondents were more likely to focus on immigration issues than independents (26% vs. 14%), while independents focused on the economy and inflation over their GOP counterparts (18% to 11%).

Asylum seekers who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border wall turn themselves in to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in the Tucson sector on Tuesday, February 13, 2024 in Lukeville, Arizona.
Nineteen percent of US adults who disapprove of Biden faulted his “open borders” immigration policies, 9% took issue with his economic policies and 5% blamed him for inflation. James Keivom
Asylum seekers who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border wall turn themselves in to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in the Tucson sector on Tuesday, February 13, 2024 in Lukeville, Arizona.
Republican respondents were more likely to focus on immigration issues than independents (26% to 14%), while independents focused on the economy and inflation over their GOP counterparts (18% to 11%). James Keivom

Another 4% cited his handling of foreign affairs and 3% cited his handling of the Middle East amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The poll, which was conducted from Jan. 2 to 22, came before a scathing special counsel’s report that described the 81-year-old president’s age and memory lapses as a compelling reason not to charge him for “willfully” retaining classified information.

Fifty-one percent of the respondents who approve of the Democratic incumbent mentioned his general performance as their primary reason for giving high marks, while 25% cited policies and 11% listed personal characteristics.

Migrants from Mexico who did not want to claim asylum crossed a gap in the U.S.-Mexico border wall on Monday, February 12, 2024 near Sasabe, Arizona.
The same Gallup poll on Biden’s job performance found 41% of US adults approve — a record low for an incumbent at this point in the election cycle — and 54% disapprove. James Keivom

Specifically, about a quarter (22%) of those who approve said Biden is doing the best he can under difficult circumstances, 11% said they agree with his policy stances and 11% said he was “better” than former President Donald Trump.

Fewer mentioned his handling of economic issues (9%), jobs (4%), immigration (3%), education or student loan relief (3%).

An even smaller category of respondents said they liked his stable, calm, measured or respectful demeanor (6%), his honesty (2%), his intelligence (2%) or his lack of drama (1%).

President Joe Biden speaks in the State Dining Room of the White House on February 6, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Only 13% mentioned his age or mental and physical infirmity — with 5% saying he was incompetent, 4% saying he had poor health or was mentally unfit and 4% saying he was too old. AFP via Getty Images

Notably, Biden received the lowest approval rating of recent presidents for his personal traits, with Trump earning 24% approval for his personal style, Barack Obama earning 16% and George W. Bush earning 19%.

Of those who disapproved of the presidents, however, a whopping 65% disliked Trump for his personal traits, 24% disliked Obama, 23% disliked Biden and 17% disliked Bush.

Those other presidents’ polls were also conducted during their first year in office, meaning the disapproval numbers for Biden’s policy stances were “likely influenced by the later timing” of the survey, according to Gallup.

The poll was conducted via telephone interviews with a random sample of 1,011 US adults in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.