A new GW Politics Poll shows significant liabilities for U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump heading into the 2024 election. The survey asked 1,500 U.S. adults how well various key traits described both Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Respondents to the survey remain concerned with Biden’s age and health. Just 38% of those surveyed said that Biden "has the mental soundness to serve effectively as president,” and just 35% said the president “is in good enough physical health to serve effectively as president.” By comparison, 46% and 54% of respondents said those terms describe former President Trump quite well or extremely well. The public sees Trump as a stronger leader than Biden. At the same time, only 35% see Trump as moral, 36% see Trump as honest.
Other Results:
- More than two-thirds of those surveyed (68%) said they believe things in this country today are off on the wrong track.
- Perceptions of the economy are pessimistic. More than half of those surveyed believe the economy is getting worse (55%) and 44% say that they and their family are worse off financially than they were a year ago.
- 53% of Republicans, but only 17% of Democrats think the U.S. is providing too much support to Ukraine. When it comes to the war between Israel and Hamas, more democrats than republicans say the U.S. is providing too much support (36% compared with17%).
- Similar to other surveys we find low levels of trust in the government. Just 16% of Republicans and Republican leaning Independents say they can trust the government in Washington to do what is right most of the time or just about always. Among Democrats and Democrat leaning Independents just under 35% say they can trust the government.
Explore the Data
About the Poll
The GW Politics Poll is managed jointly by GW's School of Media and Public Affairs, Graduate School of Political Management and Department of Political Science. The poll was conducted by YouGov. It was in the field November 7-15, 2023. It interviewed 1,500 U.S. adults 18 and older and is weighted to approximate a nationally representative sample.
Media Requests
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