In the most recent survey carried out by The Wall Street Journal, it appears that despite being only about four years younger than 80-year-old President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump has a substantial lead of 26 points on the aspect of age. According to the new data unveiled on Monday morning, a significant 73% of the registered American voters think that Biden is “too old to compete for the presidential post,” a sentiment shared by a lesser 47% of voters about Trump, giving him a noticeable advantage in the potential 2024 presidential face-off.
The survey points to a substantial fraction of the Democrat electorate, two-thirds to be precise, voicing concerns about Biden’s age for a possible re-run, as highlighted in the Journal’s report.
Nevertheless, the reservations concerning Biden are not confined to age alone. The survey illustrates a challenging scenario for the sitting president, with Trump surpassing him on multiple fronts including cognitive state (by 10 points), empathy towards the populace (by 1 point), future prospects (by 8 points), and performance during tenure (by 11 points) according to the Journal’s observations.
Regarding voter favorability, Biden seems to be in troubled waters, securing only 39% in favorable views, coupled with a mere 42% approval rating for his job performance, as opposed to a 57% disapproval rate.
When considering the next electoral face-off, Trump seems to be neck-and-neck with Biden, both amassing a support base of 46%. However, incorporating third-party contenders into the equation presents Trump with a slim lead of 1 point (40%-39%), a scenario expected to reflect in the 2024 electoral landscape.
Republican analyst Tony Fabrizio noted, “The advantage swings to Biden if the focus is on personality and temperament, while Trump seems to have the upper hand when it comes to policies and accomplishments.” The political atmosphere is still governed by “the economy, stupid,” a phrase famously coined by Democrat adviser James Carville.
Interestingly, only a small fraction of 28% believe that Biden has enhanced the economy, with a staggering 58% considering the economy to have deteriorated, especially given the backdrop of the economic upheaval triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, within the Republican primary race, Trump is surging ahead with remarkable momentum, boasting a 59% support rate. The statistics are as follows:
- Former President Donald Trump: 59%
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis: 13%
- Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley: 8%
- Businessperson Vivek Ramaswamy: 5%
- Former Vice President Mike Pence: 2%
- Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie: 3%
- Senator Tim Scott (R-SC): 2%
- Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson: 1%
- North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum: 1%
- Representative Will Hurd (R-TX): 0%
The Wall Street Journal’s survey, which took place between August 24 and 30, involved 1,500 registered American voters. The study’s subsets comprised 750 probable voters and 600 Republican primary voters. It holds a margin of error of ±2.5 percentage points for the overall sample, ±3.6 percentage points for the probable voters, and ±4.0 percentage points for the Republican primary electorate.
