More than 70% of voters say Biden doesn't have mental, cognitive health to serve, new poll says

WASHINGTON – A sweeping section of registered voters do not believe President Joe Biden has the mental and cognitive health to serve a second term as president after his unsteady debate performance last week, according to a new poll.

The CBS/You Gov national survey conducted in the days after the debate found that 72% of voters do not believe Biden has the mental or cognitive health to serve as president, as well as nearly half of his own party. That’s up seven points from the beginning of June.

Forty-nine percent of voters said they believe former President Donald Trump does not have the mental or cognitive ability to take on the role of commander-in-chief again.

While Biden has faced questions from voters about his age for months, his raspy voice, stumbling responses, and at times wooden appearance during his match-up last Thursday against Trump have further flamed concerns about his ability to serve.

The latest poll numbers could fuel more calls for Biden, 81, to withdraw from the presidential race and allow Democrats to nominate another candidate.

Biden has said that he does not plan to bow out of the 2024 race. And a growing group of national Democratic leaders, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., have rejected the notion that he should step aside.

Those leaders appear to be at odds with the average Democratic voter, according to the survey released Sunday.

The CBS/YouGov poll found a 10 percentage point uptick since February in the slice of Democratic voters who said Biden should not be running for president again. Among the main reasons voters said Biden should step aside were his age, the decisions he may make in office and his ability to campaign effectively.

The poll was conducted with a national sample of 1,130 registered voters. It has a margin of error of +/- 4.2 percentage points.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Poll: 70% of voters say Biden doesn't have cognitive health to serve