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“Americans” don’t think Biden is too old

Published on 39 Comments on “Americans” don’t think Biden is too old

In polls, about half of Americans think Joe Biden's age would affect his ability to do the job. As usual, though, it's instructive to see how this breaks down:

It's not "Americans" who think Biden is too old. It's Trump supporters.

39 thoughts on ““Americans” don’t think Biden is too old”

  1. CAbornandbred

    So Reps think Biden is too old, but almost 78 year old crazy Trump is no problem. That folks is the problem.

    1. Lounsbury

      Really it is merely partisan political motivated reasoning, they do not really deep down think any such thing, however it is one of the pegs they hang opposition on - opposition that was decided essentially by tribalism really.

  2. bbleh

    It's Trump voters who SAY they think Biden is too old. Whether they all BELIEVE it is open to question, but they know they're supposed to say it, to demonstrate loyalty to the Tribe and probably in some cases to convince themselves to ignore Trump's increasingly evident dementia.

    1. Yehouda

      "It's Trump voters who SAY they think..."

      That is true for most of Trump's supporters "beliefs".
      Taking what a trumpists say as evidence about what they think is simply dumb.

  3. KenSchulz

    Disregard any poll that asks if Biden is too old, and doesn’t also ask if Trump is too a) stupid b) ignorant c) narcissistic d) vengeful e) erratic f) racist g) misogynist h) demented i) unhinged to be President.
    I don’t know about the last two, they imply that at one time TFG was ‘mented’ or ‘hinged’. I doubt that. But feel free to add to the list.

    2. Yehouda

      " a) stupid b)..."
      Anti-democracy is more important than all of these.

      But I agree with main point: Trump's character needs to be questioned, and it is actaully more imporant than Biden age. The fact that the media don't ask these questions is a serious defect.

  4. AverageJoe

    The only issue is whether Biden has dementia -- which he so clearly does -- not whether he's too old. Pretending it's an age issue is disingenuous.

    1. Joseph Harbin

      The only issue is whether AverageJoe has shit for brains -- which he so clearly does -- not whether Joe is too old. Pretending AJ has a legitimate point to make is disingenuous.

      1. Yehouda

        Agree about AverageJoe.
        But he highlights ian interetsing point: the polls ask if Biden is too old, but they don't ask whether he has dementia. This makes it easier for trumpists to give the "right" answer.

        1. Joseph Harbin

          FWIW Polls should not ask people about dementia. The public should not be giving pollsters opinions about medical diagnoses. Leave that for the professionals.

          That said, you could say Trump has acted in a demented way on various occasions. That could be true in a vernacular sense though maybe not in a medical way.

          I honestly don’t know if Trump has dementia. Maybe. But from what I’ve observed with older family members with dementia and Alzheimer’s, Trump seems to have something else.

          OTOH I would bet Trump has had a stroke or multiple strokes. He shows many symptoms of stroke victims. But unless his doctor is willing to say that, it’s just my nonpro guess.

          2. KenSchulz

            I consider myself a pragmatic lefty, so I look at results. One candidate got an infrastructure bill passed, got improvements in ACA, drug price reductions, climate initiatives, changes to attract manufacturing back; supports labor unions, and more. The other guy satisfied Grover Norquist’s minimum requirement of having “enough working digits to handle a pen.” Which he used to give money to people who already had too much. And is a sack full of psychopathologies besides.

    3. Salamander

      When you typed "Biden", your head was saying "Trump", right? Confusing one name for another often happens to folks "of a certain age". Trump does it all the time, so don't feel bad!

    5. Lounsbury

      Biden rather clearly does not have any actual medical form of "dementia" although party political partisans will say whatever they think is effective.

  7. Salamander

    So it's the trumpies who are pushing the "old" line! Well, that explains why the Talking Heads and Op-Edders are all on board. If there is still any question about "media bias" and which way it leans, this clears it up.

    Trumpies I have spoken to have never heard Biden speak, long form. Apparently, they just listen to the spin from their select media ans guffaw to poorly-edited clips on their anti-social media. No, they would never, ever actually listen to one of his speeches or interviews!

    I'm also guessing this is somewhat true of their opinions of their Lord and Messiah. Seriously, you can't listen to that guy blather incoherently and repetitively, staggering from one grievance or lie to the next, without ... let's just say, "getting a negative opinion." Unless you're the type who picks the tasty croutons and olives off the top of the word salad and discards/disregards the rest.

  8. Jimm

    To help remove prejudice and/or cognitive dissonance, would help to also ask "what age is too old to run for president"? I would actually alternately ask that question first or last, and see how it impacts the other question "is Biden too old"? And I didn't look into particulars of this poll but I can't think of any reason why a poll would only ask if Biden is too old and not also Trump, who's just a few years younger, so I would include "is Trump too old" too.

    If my recollection of my Cialdini readings is accurate, we should expect to see differing answers to all questions depending on the order given.

  10. kenalovell

    C'mon Kevin, even the New York Times has confirmed that Americans don't want a Biden/Trump rematch because they're too old. They are yearning for change*! They love candidates who promise something new! The evidence for this is so overwhelming, the article in question saw no need to refer readers to it. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/09/us/politics/trump-biden-presidential-campaign-2024.html

    *Politicians like Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Grassley, Steny Hoyer, Mitch McConnell, Maxine Waters, Lindsey Graham and so many others are simply the countless exceptions that prove the general argument!

    1. KenSchulz

      The authors cite Reagan, Bill Clinton and Obama as candidates who promised change — all of whom won second terms. There’s also the very high re-election rate for Congresspersons who choose to run again.

      1. Citizen99

        You might want to notice that every single election is a "change" election where the public yearns for "change." Printing this is the journalistic equivalent of reporting that the sun, once again, rose in the east.

  11. cld

    But remember, the purpose social conservatives have in voting is to cause as much harm as possible, so if they really thought Biden was too old they'd all be voting for him.

  12. Cycledoc

    Truth is they are both too old. Trump is also a lying probable psychopath maybe with early dementia. Biden is a competent guy who did a creditable job.

    But as they say (Russell Investments).

    “Past performance is no guarantee of future results. There's a reason this “warning label” is included in every document that discusses the performance of a particular fund, asset class or strategy. That's because when it comes to financial markets, circumstances can change—sometimes quickly and unexpectedly.”

    The same is true in politics when you are talking of 80ish politicians. Remember RBG? I’ll vote for Biden because there is no other rational choice. I’m 82.

  13. Altoid

    Seeing that graph, I have to ask myself "self, now why is it that a media that 1) has a powerful storyline about 'polarization' staring them in the face with this data, and 2) has itself been riding that 'polarization' storyline for a while (if fragmentarily), doesn't routinely show a breakdown between Rs and Ds (and Is) on all political polling?" And especially, as here, when asking for opinions about individuals. Because it's just so, so, effing obvious, as Kevin consistently shows us.

    I wish I had a good answer. Even a passable one would be something. But I got nothin'.

  14. jheartney

    The "Biden is too old" MAGA talking point is equal parts tu quoque and dog whistle. The latter stands in for "hey if he croaks after re-election we get the scary black lady."

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