Political analysts speculate that the chief hurdle in President Joe Biden’s 2024 reelection campaign may be that voters do not see him as having the qualities of a capable president.
Biden’s mental acuity has come into question following a special counsel report into his handling of classified documents found at the president’s private residence and his think tank at the University of Pennsylvania. Although the report did not suggest charges for Biden, it did serve a heavy blow to his campaign by highlighting his “diminished faculties,” calling him an “elderly man with poor memory.”
Following the release of the special counsel report, Biden, age 81, reacted angrily to the claims of his cognitive decline, saying, “My memory is fine; take a look at what I’ve done since I’ve become president.”
Several firms that conduct election polling and focus groups have reported that swing voters, in particular, are skeptical of Biden’s ability to lead and communicate, and Biden has not made any achievements that are noticeable on their level.
“It’s a huge problem,” Rich Thau, of the nonpartisan message-testing company Engagious, told the Wall Street Journal. “I have multiple people in every focus group who will mention that they don’t think the president has all of his faculties.”
Biden’s term in office has been marked by several domestic accomplishments in infrastructure, green energy, and healthcare reform, as well as foreign leadership in the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
But even when considering victories for the Biden administration, Thau said many swing voters don’t see them as wins for the president but think someone else is “pulling the strings.”
“A component to the age thing that I hear in focus groups is that he’s not really the one in charge,” Thau said, “that other folks in the administration or Congress are pulling the strings.”
Biden must also grapple with voters’ dissatisfaction with the economic situation in the country, especially the fallout from recent struggles with inflation. Swing voters, in particular, are particularly concerned about the state of the economy, doubting that the president is capable of ushering in more prosperous times.
The president’s disapproval rating remains high, ranging from 46% to 60% disapproval from various national polls.
An NBC News poll this month found that former President Donald Trump led Biden by more than 20 points on the issue of the economy and by more than 30 points on the border and immigration issues.
Voters have also been easily distracted by the various other scandals surrounding the president, including the legal troubles of his son, Hunter Biden.
Others voiced that videos of the president reading off of notecards and his repeated gaffes have added to the speculation that Biden is not fully in charge or capable of leading independently of significant advisor involvement.
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A Wall Street Journal poll in December found that only 14% of respondents believed that Biden had the physical stamina to be president compared to the 48% who had confidence in Trump’s capabilities.
The same poll also found that only 29% of respondents believed Biden was more mentally fit to serve as commander in chief than his predecessor. Comparatively, 45% said Trump was more fit cognitively.
