Trump, Biden Should Both Step Aside, Majority Of Americans Say: Pew Research Poll

The two top candidates in the hotly-contested 2024 election have glaring issues. The Democratic incumbent struggles to quell concerns about his age, and his Republican opponent was found guilty of 34 felony counts.

Voters have reached a historically abnormal conclusion: both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump shouldn’t be the nominees.

According to a Pew Research survey:

• 53% of Americans would replace Biden and Trump on the ballot if they could, up from 49% who desired new candidates in April.
• Among Biden supporters, 71% say that the candidates should be replaced, as compared to 62% in April.
• Among Trump supporters, the number has decreased from 35% to 26% since April. This can perhaps be attributed to a belief among Republicans that Trump is more likely to win against Biden than a replacement candidate.
• Younger voters prefer Biden and Trump be replaced at a substantially higher rate than older voters.

While Trump will almost certainly be the Republican candidate in November, Biden’s status on the ballot is up in the air.

Several Democrats have urged Biden to step aside from the Democratic ticket in favor of a younger nominee. Names floated by pundits include Vice President Kamala Harris, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and California Governor Gavin Newsom.

Biden and Trump are respectively the oldest and second-oldest presidents to ever be Commander-in-Chief.

Biden’s June debate performance was widely regarded as poor. It cast further doubts among voters about his age. According to Pew, only 24% of voters believe Biden is mentally sharp to Trump’s 58%. In 2020, 46% of voters believed that Biden was sharp.

Trump’s mental acuity has been under scrutiny as well — including from some fellow Republicans.

Yet, Biden trails Trump by several points, and only 32% of voters approve of his handling of the presidency, per Pew.

Other Takeaways: Voters are also pessimistic about the state of the race. Only 12% say the campaign makes them feel proud of the country, while 68% say the race is too negative.

Seventy-six percent of respondents say that candidates are not sufficiently focused on policy.

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Image: Midjourney