WASHINGTON (Dispatches) – Fewer than 40 percent of likely voters believe U.S. President Joe Biden is carrying out the duties of the presidency, according to a poll released Friday as the U.S. evacuation of Afghanistan continues to spiral out of control.
The survey from Rasmussen Reports found that just 39 percent of respondents thought that Biden was “doing the job of president,” while 51 percent answered that “others are making decisions” for the 78-year-old, and 10 percent said they were not sure. That represents a drastic drop from a similar poll conducted in March, when the response to that question was evenly divided 47-47, The New York Post reported.
In addition, 52 percent of respondents said they were “not confident” that Biden was physically and mentally up to the job of being commander-in-chief.
The phone and online survey of 1,000 likely voters was taken Wednesday and Thursday of this week, after Biden had attempted to defend his decision to pull U.S. troops out Afghanistan in an address from the East Room of the White House.
The survey has highlighted pre-election concerns that Biden was too old to be president. Those concerns are now settling in as the Americans see their commander-in-chief slow-walking, refusing to consider questions at press conferences, and more recently being baffled by the crisis in Afghanistan.
The findings represent a sharp decline from a similar SurveyMonkey poll just one month into Biden’s presidency when a third of Americans said he was not mentally sharp enough to discharge his presidential duties.
The shift in the public opinion about Biden from a third to a majority may indicate that Americans are having doubts about whether the president will be able to finish his term.
Biden is grappling with the largest immigration crisis in U.S. history, a surge in COVID-19 infections, and a chaotic withdrawal effort in Afghanistan.
Gallup’s latest job approval rating for President Biden, conducted mostly before the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban earlier this week, stands at 49 percent. That is one percentage point below the 50 percent registered in July and is the lowest of his term thus far.