George Stephanopoulos says new 2024 poll 'brutal' for President Biden
ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos reacts to a new ABC Washington Post poll that found that 63% of Americans do not think Biden has the 'mental sharpness' to serve another term.
ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos pulled no punches reacting to a new poll on air Sunday that showed the vast majority of Americans don't believe President Biden has the physical or mental capacity to serve another term.
"This poll is just brutal for President Biden!" Stephanopoulos said on "This Week," referencing the findings of a new survey released Sunday by ABC News and the Washington Post.
The poll released Sunday found that 63% of American adults do not think Biden, 80, has the "mental sharpness" it takes to serve effectively as president, compared to only 32% who believe he does and 5% who have no opinion. The number shot up nine percentage points since the same poll was conducted a year ago when 54% said he didn’t have the mental capacity for the job.
NEW POLL ON PRESIDENT BIDEN'S MENTAL, PHYSICAL HEALTH OFFERS WARNING SIGN FOR 2024
TV host George Stephanopoulos appears on ABC TV's "Good Morning America" in Central Park in Manhattan. (Reuters/Carlo Allegri)
The poll, which was conducted between April 28 and May 3, also found that 62% of Americans do not think Biden is in "good enough physical health" to serve either, compared to 33% who believe he is and 5% who have no opinion.
Respondents were asked the same questions about former President Donald Trump, 76, who is the current front-runner in the GOP presidential primary. Fifty-four percent said he does have the mental sharpness, compared to Biden's 32%, and 64% said he has the physical health to serve as president, compared to Biden's 33%.
The poll was also bad news for Biden's approval rating, which hit a new low at 36%, down six points since the same poll was conducted in February, compared to 56% of respondents who disapprove of Biden’s performance so far.
The poll ,released Sunday, found that 63% of American adults do not think Biden, 80, has the "mental sharpness" it takes to serve as president. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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The majority of Americans also think Trump did a better job at handling the economy than Biden, with 54% supporting Trump’s performance compared to only 36% who think Biden is doing a better job.
The poll also showed Trump beating Biden by 7 points in a hypothetical 2024 matchup.
"You're seeing real weaknesses in the coalition that powered Joe Biden to the presidency in 2020," ABC's political director Rick Klein told Stephanopoulos, noting Biden's support among Black voters and independents has significantly dwindled during his time in office.
"This race is shaping up [to be] a lot more about the incumbent president Joe Biden than it is about any of his challengers," Klein added.
President Joe Biden departs the White House on Jan. 19, 2023. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Former DNC Chairwoman Donna Brazile reacted to the grim findings in a subsequent ABC segment, telling Stephanopoulos that the "sobering" numbers kept her up at night.
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"It kept me up, and I thought they should wake up and look at those numbers," Brazile said. "It’s sobering in the sense that the coalition that elected Joe Biden, with the historic numbers that we saw in 2020, that coalition right now is fragmented. That should concern them," she warned.
The poll comes nearly two weeks after Biden announced in a video that he and Vice President Harris would seek re-election.
Fox News' Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.
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