President Biden’s reelection bid is facing growing concerns from voters over his age, the economy and crime, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
The poll also suggests that the concerns about Biden could help former President Trump, the GOP front-runner, in a potential rematch.
The opinion poll found Biden, 80, statistically tied in a hypothetical match-up against Trump, 77, both polling at 39 percent among respondents, with 1 in 5 undecided.
But a majority of voters — 77 percent for Biden and 56 percent for Trump — said they feel the candidates are too old to be president. Biden, the oldest sitting president, would be 86 at the end of a second term, while Trump would be 83.
While other, younger Republican contenders have sought to highlight the age factor, Trump has dismissed the concerns. This week, Trump told Megyn Kelly during a SiriusXM interview that Biden is “not too old at all.”
Concerns over the economy could also spell trouble for Biden, even as the White House argues the economy is in far better shape than three years ago and seeks to highlight the president’s economic successes through “Bidenomics.”
About 73 percent of respondents said their economic situation is about the same or worse than before the COVID-19 pandemic, and just 35 percent said they expect their situation to improve in the coming year.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online nationwide from Sept. 8-14. It includes responses from 4,413 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of about 2 percentage points.