Half of America doubts President Joe Biden is "physically or mentally" fit for the job, according to the latest poll by Rasmussen Reports.
It is an alarming finding after reports of President Biden failing to remember the name of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, calling him "the guy that runs that outfit over there," the New York Post reported Monday.
The 2-question survey asked:
- "How concerned are you that President Biden has not held a press conference?"
- "How confident are you that Joe Biden is physically and mentally up to the job of being President of the United States?"
The two might be related, and the responses were, too — as 50% of likely voters lacked confidence in President Biden's fitness for office, while 52% of likely voters were concerned he has yet to hold a press conference, including 32% who are "very concerned."
"More than six weeks since his inauguration, President Biden still hasn't held his first White House press conference, and half of voters are worried about his ability to do the job," the Rasmussen Reports summary read.
Just 46% were not concerned about the lack of a press conference by President Biden, including 24% "not very concerned" and 22% "not at all concerned," according to the poll.
Biden, 78, has frequently stumbled, including when reading a teleprompter during the campaign and in his early days as president.
"And I want to thank the sec — the, the, ah former general," Biden said Monday, per the Post. "I keep calling him general, but my, my — the guy who runs that outfit over there.
"I want to make sure we thank the secretary for all he's done to try to implement what we just talked about. And for recommending these two women for promotion."
Biden did say "Secretary Austin" earlier during the White House event, but that appeared to be during a period he was reading off the teleprompter, according to the Post. He failed to recall the name minutes later.
Former President Donald Trump has frequently mocked his successor's mental gaffes, including an erroneous claim by President Biden that there was "no vaccine" when he assumed office in January. Trump noted even Biden must have forgotten he received his vaccination in December while Trump was in office.
Trump repeated the rebuke of Biden's poor cognition at the Conservative Political Action Conference in late February.
"Biden said just a few days ago, that when he got here, meaning the White House, there was no vaccine," Trump said. "He said, 'there's no vaccine.' Oh, good. Say it again, Joe.
"No, I don't think he said that, frankly, in a malicious way. I really don't. I actually believe he said that because he didn't really know what the hell is happening."
Rasmussen Reports polled 1,000 likely voters from March 4-7 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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