Fox News Poll: More think Trump has mental soundness than Biden
Although majorities say neither has the cognitive ability to lead the nation
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Corrupt and lacking the mental soundness to serve effectively as president.
That’s what voters think of the two candidates who currently look most likely to be their 2024 presidential choices.
A majority of 61% say Joe Biden doesn’t have the mental soundness needed for the job he holds.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
That sentiment has risen steadily over the last three years. It’s up 5 points since last year, up 13 points compared to 2021, and up 16 points since 2020.
The latest Fox News national survey also finds that while 46% think Donald Trump has the cognitive capability necessary to be president, over half, 52%, do not.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
While more voters see Biden lacking mental sharpness, fewer believe he is dishonest.
When asked if the word "corrupt" describes each candidate, 56% say it applies to Trump compared to 48% for Biden.
The share believing Biden is corrupt is up 7 points since the week before the 2020 election (41%), while Trump’s number has held steady (56%).
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
One in ten Democrats (11%) say Biden is corrupt and one quarter feel he lacks mental fitness (26%).
Among Republicans, one in five believe Trump is corrupt (20%) and one in seven that he isn’t cognitively up to being president (15%).
NYT COLUMNIST SUGGESTS BIDEN'S ‘DECLINE’ NAD POSSIBILITY OF ‘HEALTH CRISIS’ RISK TRUMP WIN IN 2024
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
The poll, released Thursday, shows close races in seven potential 2024 head-to-head matchups. Each is well within the error margin and no candidate receives 50% support.
Republicans have the edge over Biden in four of the hypothetical races (Trump and Nikki Haley are ahead by 2 points, while Vivek Ramaswamy and Mike Pence are up by 1). Biden comes out on top in three (by 3 points over Ron DeSantis, and by 1 over Tim Scott and Chris Christie).
While the differences between the candidates are insignificant, they tell us it would be tight if the election were today (it isn’t).
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
In the Biden-Trump matchup, support for Biden is down among several key constituencies compared to fall 2020, including suburban women (down 12 points), women (-11), Black voters (-10), voters under age 45 (-7), and Hispanic voters (-5).
That support moved to Trump’s column. Compared to late October 2020, his standing has improved among suburban women (up 13 points), women (+10), and Blacks (+7), Hispanics (+7), and those under age 45 (+6).
Independents prefer Trump over Biden by 10 points. In late October 2020, they favored Biden by 20 points.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Still, voters are more than twice as likely to expect Trump’s legal issues will hurt (44%) rather than help (20%) him in the general election. One third think they won’t matter (34%).
Views are more mixed among Republicans, with 34% saying the legal issues could help Trump, 27% saying hurt, and 36% no difference. Half of independents (49%) think Trump’s legal difficulties will hurt, while 10% think they will help.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Poll-pourri
Voters narrowly say they would dread a Biden-Trump rematch (50%) rather than look forward to it (47%). But if it were a race between any two other candidates, the portion looking forward to it jumps 16 points to 63%, while the share dreading it drops 20 points to 30%.
Republicans (60%) would look forward to a 2020 rematch, while Democrats (60%) and independents (61%) would dread it.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
If the race were between two new candidates, majorities of all three groups would be pleased.
CLICK HERE FOR TOPLINE AND CROSSTABS
Conducted September 9-12, 2023, under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News Poll includes interviews with 1,012 registered voters nationwide who were randomly selected from a voter file and spoke with live interviewers on both landlines and cellphones. The poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points for all registered voters.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Fox News’ Victoria Balara contributed to this report.