For some reason this has not been a live subject even after the massive coverage of Biden’s age. But the people are noticing:
Six in ten Americans, including a significant slice of Republicans, think President Donald Trump has become erratic as he ages, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.
The six-day poll concluded on Monday, the day before the 79-year-old president gives his annual State of the Union address to Congress following a month of angry reprimands of lawmakers and judges.
Overall, 61% of respondents in the poll said they would describe Trump as having “become erratic with age.” Some 89% of Democrats, 30% of Republicans and 64% of independents described him this way.
I would guess there are quite a few of those who think he’s always been erratic so the number of people who see him as unhinged is probably even higher.
The truth is that he has always been erratic but he was less sure of his instincts in the first term and is now convinced that he can literally do no wrong. No matter what, he always comes out on top and never suffered any consequences. In a way you can’t blame him. He never pays any price for anything he does.
Yesterday he said the polling was all fake but he also wondered aloud why he doesn’t get more support. Naturally he claimed that he has a silent majority, the last refuge of the scoundrel president.
The polling is just terrible. Here’s G. Elliott Morris’ Verasight/Strength In Numbers poll:
- Generic ballot: Democrats lead Republicans 52% to 42% among registered voters — a 10-point margin and the widest lead since we started this tracking poll
- Presidential approval: 37% of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s job performance; 59% disapprove (net -22). Trump’s approval among political independents is just 20% in our data.
- No positive issues left: Trump’s approval on border security — his one remaining bright spot — dropped from net +4 to net 0 over the last month. He is now underwater or even on every issue we test.
- Trump approval on government funding collapses: Approval on government funding and social programs fell 7 points to net -26, the sharpest single-issue decline this month. Trump’s approval on health care also fell.
- Spending priorities: Given a hypothetical $75 billion to spend on something, just 5% of Americans would spend it on immigration enforcement. 31% chose reducing grocery and housing costs.
- Direction of country: Only 10% say things are going well in America. 52% say things are going poorly and major changes are needed.
Those are bad numbers.
I just watched a CNN segment in a Latino district in Texas that went heavily for Trump in 2024. Most of the Latino voters in the segment say they don’t like “the way he does things” but they think he’s doing a good job and will vote Republican in November. So, I don’t know. It’s possible that they were all just being tribal in front of the cameras and will vote differently or not vote at all. But it’s very hard for people to admit they messed up. I’m not sure they’re ever going to get there when it comes to Trump.