- The president announced last month that he would suspend his re-election campaign
- And a majority of voters now say the 81-year-old should step down as president
Joe Biden may have abandoned his re-election bid, but nearly six in 10 voters believe he should move on and resign as president.
The 81-year-old bowed to pressure last month and stepped down as the Democratic presidential candidate after weeks of being under fire following a disastrous debate.
Now voters are wondering whether he is fit enough to lead the country if he is not fit enough to run for re-election.
A whopping 57 percent of likely voters surveyed by JL Partners said they believe the country’s oldest president should step down now.
These numbers include nearly half of Democrats, or 47 percent.
The White House has already dismissed calls for him to resign as “ridiculous.”
Biden’s spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said the president was confident he could serve a second term and had no plans to leave the White House early.
“And he wants to finish the job he started and deliver more historic results for the American people,” she told reporters at the White House shortly after Biden ended his re-election campaign.
Yet for three and a half years, questions about Biden’s age and fitness for office have plagued him in the White House.
Last month, the urgency was heightened when he froze onstage in Atlanta during his first campaign debate against Donald Trump.
He sometimes watched with his mouth open as his opponent spoke and seemed to lose his way when answering questions.
Donors were the first to sound the alarm, openly questioning whether Biden was the best candidate to beat Trump. They were soon followed by Democratic lawmakers who worried that Biden’s weakness at the top of the ticket would cost them their seats in November.
While former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former President Barack Obama apparently coordinated their actions behind the scenes, Biden surrendered to the inevitable after consulting with his closest advisers at his Delaware home.
James Johnson, co-founder of JL Partners, which conducted the poll, said the results showed Biden had lost his authority among the American public.
President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting of the White House Creator Economy Conference, in the Indian Treaty Room of the White House on August 14
A day earlier, he was at Tulane University to promote his ‘Cancer Moonshot’ program
“It appears that his announcement of his withdrawal has convinced the general public that he is unfit for office and to run again,” he said.
‘This puts us in completely new territory: the president, who is dependent on the authority of the people, has a majority of voters and a significant portion of his own supporters saying he should step down.
“That will be a source of concern in the White House for months to come — and potential crises ahead. One thing is for sure: There will be little room to create a final legacy with a public that no longer listens to Joe Biden.”
When Biden withdrew from the race, Republicans immediately called on him to resign as president.
“If Joe Biden is not fit to run for president, he is not fit to serve as president,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, the highest-ranking Republican in Congress.
But the poll now shows that nearly half of Democrats and 52 percent of independents share this view.
Meanwhile, Biden has indicated that he wants to continue to record his legacy.
On Tuesday, he highlighted the $150 million in research grants to eight organizations as part of his “Cancer Moonshot” program.
Next week, he will speak at the Democratic Party convention in Chicago, after which he will hand over the stage to Kamala Harris.
Aides say he will next focus on distributing the funds set aside in the signed legislation, strengthening alliances and making policy announcements.