Two-thirds of Americans say President Biden should give up his bid for a second term — including more than half of those who say they’ll vote for him if he is on the ballot Nov. 5, according to a new poll out Thursday.
The ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos survey found 67% of all US adults, 62% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents and 54% of Biden supporters want the president to abandon his re-election campaign.
In all, 85% of Americans said that the 81-year-old was too old to finish a full second term in the Oval Office — a view shared by 81% of would-be Biden voters.
Just 44% of those planning to vote for Biden Nov. 5 say he should remain in the race.
The survey is the latest to show plummeting support for the president, including in several key swing states, following his disastrous June 27 debate against presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump.
Nine House Democrats have since called on Biden to step aside, as has Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and New York Lt. Gov. Antontio Delgado.
Senate Democrats will huddle on Capitol Hill Thursday with top Biden advisers ahead of a crucial “big boy” press conference that the White House hopes will calm fears that the president is not up to the job.
House Democrats met Tuesday on Capitol Hill, with Biden confidante and South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn emerging more than an hour later to declare the caucus was “riding with Biden.”
Not all were reassured after Biden’s performance in an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos last week — and the ex-Clinton White House aide even divulged to a bystander in Manhattan Tuesday that he thought the president didn’t have what it takes to serve another four years.
The poll also found that Trump holds a 30 percentage-point advantage over Biden (44%-14%) on the issue of mental sharpness.
However, the 78-year-old only leads Biden by one point (47%-46%), a narrowing from the last time the poll was taken in April, when Trump led by two (46%-44%).
Some former Democratic lawmakers, such as ex-Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan, have openly called for Vice President Kamala Harris to replace Biden, and the ABC poll shows her with a 49%-46% lead over Trump among US adults.
Harris also edges out the 45th president among registered voters in a prospective head-to-head matchup, 49%-47%.
The ABC/Washington Post/Ipsos poll was conducted online July 5-9 and surveyed 2,431 US adults, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.0 percentage points.