Trump expands lead as voters’ age worries grow

The former president is now ahead by 6 percentage points, with 80 per cent saying the incumbent is too old to run.

Some 80 pr cent of voters think Joe Biden, 81, is too old to run. Picture: AFP

Donald Trump has opened a six-percentage-point lead over Joe Biden among voters nationally, with 80 per cent saying the President is too old to run for a second term, a new Wall Street Journal poll finds.

Mr Trump’s lead over Mr Biden in a two-person match-up, 48 per cent to 42 per cent, is the widest in Journal surveys dating to late 2021 and compares with a two-point lead in February. The new survey began interviewing voters two days after the debate with Mr Trump that left the 81-year-old Mr Biden’s Democratic colleagues panicked about the President’s possible cognitive decline and their party’s weakening election prospects in November.

The new survey contains a range of signs that Mr Biden’s political standing has weakened, at a time when a small but growing number of Democrats are calling for him to withdraw as the party’s nominee.

The share who say he is too old to run rose seven points from the Journal’s survey in February. Some 34 per cent now view the President in a favourable light, a low mark in Journal surveys. Fewer than 40 per cent approve of his handling of inflation, immigration, the economy or his office overall.

The survey finds widespread discontent with both candidates, as nearly half, some 47 per cent, would replace both men on the ballot if they could and 53 per cent say they aren’t enthusiastic about anyone running for president.

Democrats show significant discontent with Mr Biden as their nominee. Some 76 per cent say he is too old to run this year – about the same share as Republicans who hold that view. About two-thirds would replace Mr Biden on the ballot with another Democrat.

Mr Trump’s 48 per cent support is the highest recorded for him in a Journal poll on the test head-to-head ballot. He held a similar, six-point lead over Mr Biden in the new survey, 42 per cent to 36 per cent, on a test ballot that included Robert F. Kennedy Jr and other independent and third-party candidates.

While the survey showed a deterioration in Mr Biden’s standing, views of Mr Trump were largely stable. Some 48 per cent said they approved of Mr Trump’s performance when he served in the White House, unchanged from February. Some 56 per cent said they viewed Mr Trump as too old to run for the office, up from 52 per cent in the prior survey.

The Wall Street Journal poll interviewed 1500 registered voters from June 29 through July 2. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.5 points for the full sample.

The Wall Street Journal