As Biden Prepares To Address the Nation, Poll Finds More Than Six in Ten Doubt His Mental Capability

WASHINGTON — A poll finds that a growing share of American adults doubt that President Biden, 81, has the memory and acuity for the job, turning his coming State of the Union address into something of a real-time audition for a second term.Roughly six in 10 say they’re not very or not at all confident in Mr. Biden’s mental capability to serve effectively as president, according to a new survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That’s a slight increase from January 2022, when about half of those polled expressed similar concerns.By the same token, nearly six in 10 also say they lack confidence in the mental capability of former President Donald Trump, the 77-year-old Republican front-runner.For many voters, this year’s election looks like a showdown for the world’s toughest job between two men who are well beyond the standard retirement age. The next president will probably need to steer through global conflicts, fix domestic emergencies and work with a dysfunctional Congress.Mr. Biden is likely to address those challenges and more in his State of the Union address on Thursday as he tries to convince Americans that he deserves another term.Going into the big event, just 38 percent of American adults approve of how Biden is handling his job as president, while 61 percent disapprove. Democrats (74 percent) are much likelier than independents (20 percent) and Republicans (6 percent) to favor his performance. There’s broad discontent, though, on the way Mr. Biden is handling a variety of issues, including the economy, immigration, and foreign policy.About four in 10 Americans approve of the way Mr. Biden is handling each of these issues: health care, climate change, abortion policy, and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. People are less satisfied by Mr. Biden’s handling of immigration (29 percent), the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians (31 percent), and the economy (34 percent) — all of which are likely to come up in the speech before a joint session of Congress.Nearly six in 10, or 57 percent, Americans think the national economy is somewhat or much worse off than before Mr. Biden took office in 2021. Only three in 10 adults say it’s better under his leadership. Still, people are more optimistic about the state of their own bank accounts: 54 percent say their personal finances are good.

As Biden Prepares To Address the Nation, Poll Finds More Than Six in Ten Doubt His Mental Capability

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