The majority of President Joe Biden's own voters now think that he is too old to be an effective president in a second term.
To put it differently, a majority of the same people who voted for Biden in the 2020 presidential election are now saying that he is too old to be running for reelection.
The is according to a new poll from the New York Times and Siena College.
The pollster surveyed 980 "registered voters nationwide" during the period from Feb. 25 to Feb. 28, 2024. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
The pollster asked participants whether "this candidate is just too old to be an effective president."
The question was followed by a picture of former President Donald Trump with the caption, "77 years old," and a picture of Biden, with the caption, "81 years old."
For Trump, 21% said that they strongly agree that Trump is too old to be an effective president, 21% said that they somewhat agree, 23% said that they somewhat disagree, 32% said that they strongly disagree, and 2% said that they don't know or that they refuse to answer the question.
For Biden, on the other hand, 47% said that they strongly agree, 26% said that they somewhat agree, 14% said that they somewhat disagree, 11% said that they strongly disagree, and 2% said that they don't know or that they refuse to answer the question.
It ought to be emphasized that these are the results when all participants are considered.
It is what happens when the poll results get narrowed down to those individuals who supported Biden in the 2020 presidential race.
The Times reports, "The survey pointed to a fundamental shift in how voters who backed Mr. Biden four years ago have come to see him. A striking 61 percent said they thought he was 'just too old' to be an effective president."
The outlet adds, "A sizable share was even more worried: Nineteen percent of those who voted for Mr. Biden in 2020, and 13 percent of those who said they would back him in November, said the 81-year-old president’s age was such a problem that he was no longer capable of handling the job."
This could be seriously bad news for Biden. In fact, it could end up costing Biden the 2024 presidential election.
This same poll found that, if the presidential election were to be held today, Trump would beat Biden, 48% to 43%. It is worth noting that about 10% either declined to answer or said that they didn't know who would win the election.
