Biden is ‘old’, Trump is ‘rotten’: AP-NORC poll holds ominous signs for both in potential 2024 rematch

Washington (AFP) – Old. Confused. corrupt. Dishonest.

These are among the most important terms Americans use when asked to describe the president Joe Biden and ex-president Donald TrumpHe is the most capable Republican to face him in next year’s elections.

Unflattering photos of the two are clearly visible in a new poll he conducted Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Researchwhich asked an open-ended question about what comes to people’s minds when they think of them.

For Biden, I mentioned the largest percentage of American adults — including Democrats and Republicans alike his age. At 80, the Democratic president is only three years older than Trump, but many Americans have expressed real concerns about his ability to continue as president.

Meanwhile, so was Trump Accused in four cases It has 91 criminal charges and elicits words like “corrupt” and “crooked” (15% mentioned it), along with “nasty” and other generally negative comments (11%). Not far behind are words like “liar” and “dishonest” (8%). 8% gave generally positive comments such as “good”.

Looking deeper doesn’t improve things much for Biden or Trump. While many of the criticisms reflect a familiar partisan divide, the poll shows that neither man is immune to criticism from within his own party.

“Looks like he needs to be someone’s nice grandfather, not someone who drives the wheel,” Justin Campbell, a 27-year-old Democrat and security guard in Brookhaven, Mississippi, said of Biden. However, he was more negative towards Trump, saying that the former president “acts like a kindergartner when people say ‘no’ to him.”

Campbell noted that Trump reads little about politics and national security, which could make him “functionally illiterate.” He said he plans to vote for Biden next year, and “I can’t wait to see Donald Trump in jail.”

Such sentiments were common. Twenty-six percent of respondents use words like “old” or “outdated” to describe Biden, and another 15 percent mention things like “slow” and “confused.”

Another 10% make generally negative comments about the president, and 6% use words like “corrupt” and “crooked.” Only 6% provide words like “president” and “leader,” and 5% use words like “strong” and “capable” — the most positive comments made about Biden.

Biden’s age is mentioned most frequently even among Democrats, with 28% of them mentioning it — a much higher proportion than those who cite presidency, leadership (11%), or strength and ability (11%).

Trump’s negative comments focus not on age, but on his moral standing and demeanor, along with things like “talkative” and “angry” (6%), “crazy” and “dangerous” (6%), and “narcissist” (6%) ). . About 5% use words such as “strong” and “capable”.

Rami Marsha, the 58-year-old CEO of the manufacturing company in Agoura Hills, Calif., is a registered Democrat who voted for Trump in 2016 and for Biden in 2020 — but says he’ll likely leave out the presidential race portion of his ballot. blank if these two meet again in 2024.

“I think he may have some dementia, and I don’t think he has the ability to run the country,” Marsha said of Biden. But he was equally blunt about Trump: “I’ve had enough of him.”

This is a fairly common feeling. The poll shows that only 24% of Americans overall want to see Biden run again, while 30% say the same about Trump — and a majority say they would be reluctant to support them if nominated again.

Also, 62% of Americans say they have a negative opinion of Trump; 52% say the same about Biden.

Biden re-election campaign He said the president’s age is not the primary motivator for voters, especially compared to the administration’s policy achievements or key issues such as abortion. She also noted that perceptions of the president and the Democrats weren’t strong before last year’s midterm elections — except that the party Challenge expectations.

a Trump campaign The spokesperson did not respond to messages seeking comment, but the former president has previously used his indictments to continue the political offensive, telling supporters at rallies: “I have been indicted on your behalf.”

Larry Heath, a 73-year-old from Idaho who is the retired president and general manager of an auto parts company, is a Republican who in the poll called Biden an “idiot” and Trump an “arrogant.” He said he did not plan to vote for either of them next year.

Heath blamed Biden’s economic policies for a drop in his net worth by at least $150,000, and said the president “just needs to retire and get on with things.”

Although he had some kind words for Trump, Heath was also critical of the former president.

“I really like what he’s done, I like the decisions he’s made,” Heath said, adding that at first, “I really liked that rawness about him.” But he said those feelings have subsided, in part because Trump has what Heath described as a “typical New York smug attitude.”

“I will no longer support him,” he added. “I’m done with him.”

“I thought some of his policies were good for Americans, but he’s just too much of a distraction,” Annie Dwyer, a 60-year-old retiree from suburban Atlanta who describes herself as a moderate Republican, said of Trump.

Dwyer also had problems with the president, comparing him to what she saw while caring for her 95-year-old father.

“He reminded me a lot of Biden, just the stuff that comes out of (Biden’s) mouth,” Doerr said.

She added, “I don’t think he’s fit to be president for another four years.” “Maybe it was when he first escaped, but not now.”

The poll also showed familiar ideological divisions. It found that Republicans are more likely than Democrats to use words like “slow” and “confused” to describe Biden, 25% to 7%, as well as words like “corrupt” and “quirky” (14% to 0%). “Poor” or “Not Qualified” (9% to 2%).

For Trump, meanwhile, the top comments among Republicans are generally positive (15%) along with things like “strong” (11%) and mention of America or patriotism (8%), along with mention of the presidency or leadership (6). %).

Some Republicans even use negative words to describe Trump, including labels like “loud” or “angry” (7%). Others mentioned arrogance or boasting (6%), narcissism (5%) or other negative comments in general (6%).

Democrats are more likely than Republicans to cite corruption (25% to 4%) and dishonesty (12% to 4%) to describe Trump. Seven percent of Democrats named racism, bigotry, homophobia or misogyny among the top words they would use to describe the former president. Rarely did any Republican cite these words in the poll.

Susan Grant, a 66-year-old retired office manager for the nonprofit Physicians Membership Association from Westfield, Indiana, said she sees Biden as “very weak” and disagrees with his policies. Meanwhile, Trump is “very divisive, and I think that’s bad for our country.”

“There’s this whole thing, in the Bible, ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand,'” Grant said, “and all the division that has just been promoted and promoted is bad for our country.” “I’m very conservative about values ​​and economics. But personally, I don’t think Trump is a very good person.”

Grant has described herself as a “hold your nose” Trump voter twice before. If he were the Republican nominee against Biden, she said, “I would probably do it a third time. But I won’t be happy.”

“I also wonder if this is what we need for a third party,” Grant said. “Maybe that’s the push. I don’t know.”

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The survey of 1,165 adults was conducted August 10-14, 2023, using a sample from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak panel, which is designed to be representative of the US population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.