Poll: 77% of voters think Biden is too old for office

The age of politicians has been a hot topic among Americans as of late, with voters in the last election choosing between candidates who were 74 and 78 years old, respectively. The same candidates are running again.

That's why a new poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs looked to examine what Americans thought of the president’s age and whether or not he could do the job for another term.

The poll found that 77% of Americans, including 89% of Republicans and 69% of Democrats, thought President Joe Biden was too old to be effective for another four years.

If he were to be reelected, President Biden would be 86 and the end of his second term. When asked about this over the weekend, Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) told Fox News that age was “an issue,” but voters have to look at his other accomplishments and stances.

“Look, when people look at a candidate, whether it’s Joe Biden or Trump or Bernie Sanders, anybody else, they have to evaluate a whole lot of factors. I met with the president — I don’t know, five or six weeks ago. We had a great discussion. He seemed fine to me,” Sanders said.

The results of the poll also come months after a survey from Quinnipiac University found that 65% of registered voters thought Biden was too old to serve another term.

Still, there is concern among both top candidates, not just Biden.

The pollsters found that Americans were more likely to say age was an issue for Biden than his leading Republican competitor, former President Donald Trump, despite the two being only three years apart. Still, age was a notable problem that many who had concerns about Trump brought up.

Overall, about half of Americans said Trump was too old for the White House, with Democrats being more likely to say so than Republicans.

The poll also found that the negative view of Biden’s age isn’t just held among young people, but those in all age groups.

Age limits have also been a topic, as of late, with several congressional members, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), being criticized for not stepping down amidst age-related ongoing health issues.

When it comes to supporting term limits, 66% of respondents said they would back presidential age limits, 68% said they would support age limits for the House and Senate, and 67% supported a mandatory retirement age for the Supreme Court.

The poll was conducted from Aug. 10-14 and included the responses of 1,165 U.S. adults. There is a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.