Nearly two-thirds of Democrats want President Joe Biden to step down as the Democratic nominee amid growing concerns over the octogenarian’s mental acuity, a poll released Wednesday shows.
Around 7 in 10 Americans—including 65 percent of Democrats—say Biden should exit the presidential race now and allow the Democratic Party to field a different nominee, according to an AP-NORC poll conducted July 11-15.
The poll results undercut the 81-year-old incumbent’s claim following his dismal debate performance against Republican nominee Donald Trump on June 27 that he is the "presumptive nominee of our party by a wide margin" and has the support of "average Democrats."
Only about 3 in 10 Democrats are "extremely" or "very confident" that Biden is mentally fit to serve another four years, a decline from 40 percent in a February AP-NORC poll.
Thirty-seven percent of Democrats say they are satisfied with Biden as their party’s nominee, down from 42 percent before the debate. The number of dissatisfied Democrats, meanwhile, has grown from 38 percent to 48 percent.
Younger Democrats, according to the Wednesday poll, are more opposed to Biden’s reelection bid. Three-quarters of Democrats aged 45 or below would like to see Biden bow out of the race, compared to 57 percent of those over 45.
While 57 percent of polled voters also think Trump should withdraw from the race, the former president has maintained strong support within his party, with about 73 percent of Republicans saying he should stay in the race and 60 percent satisfied with Trump as their candidate.
The poll came just two days after Trump officially clinched his party’s nomination at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and announced Sen. J.D. Vance (R., Ohio) as his running mate.
House and Senate Democrats have publicly called on Biden to step aside since his incoherence on the debate stage put his mental capabilities under the spotlight, but the octogenarian remains defiant and insists he will stay in the race. A CNN report on Tuesday said Biden and his allies are pushing the Democratic National Committee to virtually nominate the president ahead of the Democratic convention next month.