Majority of Americans think both Biden and Trump are too old to serve second terms
Washington, DC, February 11, 2024 -- A new ABC News/Ipsos poll conducted after the release of the Hur Report finds that a majority of Americans (59%) believe that both Joe Biden and Donald Trump are too old for another term as president. This finding, coming after allegations in Special Counsel Hur’s report of President Joe Biden’s memory lapses, suggests that age will continue to be a factor in the 2024 election. An additional quarter of Americans (27%) say that only Biden is too old to serve another term (but not Trump). Only one in ten Americans (11%) say that neither is too old to serve another term. Partisanship plays a large part in assessments of the candidates’ age with the majority of Republicans (62%) saying only Biden while the majority of both Democrats (69%) and Independents (70%) say both are too old.

On the substance of the Hur Report, Americans are divided about whether Biden should have been charged with a crime for his handling of classified documents after he left office as vice president. On this question, similar shares say he should have been charged (38%), should not have been charged (34%), or do not know (28%).
On a different legal topic, a clear majority of Americans (66%) say that Donald Trump should not have immunity from criminal prosecution for actions he took while president, coming after a recent federal appeals court came to the same conclusion.
In the wake of a collapsed deal to shore up border restrictions in exchange for funding for Israel and Ukraine, Americans are somewhat split, with more blaming Biden and both parties in Congress than Donald Trump. In this study, about half of Americans (49%) say that Biden deserves a great deal or good amount of blame for Congress not passing legislation intended to decrease illegal border crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border. Similar shares blame Democrats in Congress (51%) and Republicans in Congress (53%) while slightly fewer blame Donald Trump (38%).
For more information about this poll, please click here.

About the Study
This ABC News/Ipsos poll was conducted February 9 to 10, 2024, by Ipsos using the probability-based KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 528 adults age 18 or older. No respondents were removed from the final data for refusing all of the survey items.
The survey was conducted using KnowledgePanel, the largest and most well-established online probability-based panel that is representative of the adult US population. Our recruitment process employs a scientifically developed addressed-based sampling methodology using the latest Delivery Sequence File of the USPS – a database with full coverage of all delivery points in the US. Households invited to join the panel are randomly selected from all available households in the U.S. Persons in the sampled households are invited to join and participate in the panel. Those selected who do not already have internet access are provided a tablet and internet connection at no cost to the panel member. Those who join the panel and who are selected to participate in a survey are sent a unique password-protected log-in used to complete surveys online. As a result of our recruitment and sampling methodologies, samples from KnowledgePanel cover all households regardless of their phone or internet status and findings can be reported with a margin of sampling error and projected to the general population. KnowledgePanel members receive a per survey incentive, usually the equivalent of $1 (though for some it is $2) in points, that can be redeemed for cash or prizes. No prenotification email for this study was sent prior to field. Panelists receive a unique login to the survey and are only able to complete it one time. One reminder email was sent for this study.
The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults. The margin of sampling error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.09. The margin of sampling error is higher and varies for results based on sub-samples. Sampling error is only one potential source of error. There may be other unmeasured non-sampling error in this or any poll. In our reporting of the findings, percentage points are rounded off to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given table column may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. In questions that permit multiple responses, columns may total substantially more than 100%, depending on the number of different responses offered by each respondent.
The study was conducted in both English and Spanish. The data were weighted to adjust for gender by age, race/ethnicity, education, Census region, metropolitan status, household income, and party identification. The demographic benchmarks came from 2023 Current Population Survey (CPS) from the US Census Bureau. Party ID benchmarks are from recent multi-night ABC News polls. The weighting categories were as follows:
- Gender (Male, Female) by Age (18–29, 30–44, 45–59, and 60+)
- Race/Hispanic Ethnicity (White Non-Hispanic, Black Non-Hispanic, Other or 2+ Races Non-Hispanic, Hispanic)
- Education (High School graduate or less, Some College, Bachelor, Masters and beyond)
- Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West)
- Metropolitan status (Metro, non-Metro)
- Household Income (Under $25,000, $25,000-$49,999, $50,000-$74,999, $75,000-$99,999, $100,000-$149,999, $150,000+)
- Party ID (Democrat, Republican, Independent, Something else)
For more information on this news release, please contact:
Chris Jackson
Senior Vice President, US
Public Affairs
+1 202 420-2025
[email protected]
Mallory Newall
Vice President, US
Public Affairs
+1 202 374-2613
[email protected]
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