Most Americans (61%) think that President Donald Trump, 79, is getting more erratic with age, according to a new poll from Reuters/Ipsos.
This poll was conducted from last Wednesday through this Monday, and it included responses from 4,638 U.S. adults. Earlier this month, other polls showed that Americans were expecting a gloomy future for themselves and that they are worried about tech like artificial intelligence taking over their jobs.
During the Reuters/Ipsos polling days, a majority of the conservative leaning U.S. Supreme Court (including two justices appointed by Trump himself) ruled that the president’s International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs were illegal. Although they are unpopular and critics have argued that they just function like a tax on Americans, Trump doubled down on his approach and levied new global tariffs this week.
Reuters/Ipsos’ poll showed that Democrats were much more likely to say that Trump is becoming more erratic with age at 89% compared to 30% of Republicans. However, a majority of independents (64%) also think that the president is becoming more erratic.
When asked if Trump is “mentally sharp and able to deal with challenges,” the respondents had a similar response. Just 19% of Democrats and 36% of Republicans said yes, compared to 81% of Republicans. Overall, 45% of Americans included in the poll said yes.
Concerns about aging elected officials have been brewing for some time in the U.S. Former President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 election in part due to concerns about his age, health and mental acuity. At the end of his term, Biden was the oldest president on record at 81. Trump would often call him “Sleepy Joe” on the campaign trail.
Trump beat Biden as the oldest person elected to the office when he began his second term. He’s turning 80 this year.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom – a Democrat who frequently spars with Trump via social media posts – has questioned whether the commander-in-chief has dementia in the past.
“Some 79% of poll respondents agreed with a statement that ‘elected officials in Washington, D.C., are too old to represent most Americans,’” Reuters said. “The average age in the U.S. Senate is about 64, and in the U.S. House of Representatives, it’s 58.”
According to research published by Columbia University in 2022, almost 10% of U.S. adults ages 65 and older had dementia, while another 22% have mild cognitive impairment.
Democratic respondents were slightly more likely to call for younger politicians than Republicans, per the Reuters/Ipsos poll. Their concerns about age extended to elected officials from their own party, and 58% said Democrat Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), 75, is too old to work in government.
Despite the concerns about his aging, Trump’s overall popularity “has been little changed in recent months,” said Reuters. It found that 40% of respondents approved of Trump's performance as president, up two percentage points from earlier in February.
“While he started his term with a considerably higher rating at 47%, his approval has held within a point or two of its current level since April,” Reuters added.