WASHINGTON – A new national survey shows that three out of five Americans believe President Donald Trump has developed increasingly unpredictable behavior as he gets older, according to polling data from Reuters and Ipsos.
The survey, which wrapped up this past Monday just one day before the 79-year-old commander-in-chief delivers his yearly State of the Union speech to Congress, comes after weeks of harsh public criticism directed at both legislators and members of the judiciary.
The polling results show 61% of those surveyed agreed that Trump could be characterized as having “become erratic with age.” Breaking down by party affiliation, 89% of Democratic voters, 30% of Republican voters, and 64% of independent voters shared this assessment. White House officials declined to provide a response when asked for comment.
Despite these perceptions, Trump’s general approval ratings have remained relatively stable in recent months. The current survey found 40% of respondents approve of the president’s job performance, representing a two-point increase from earlier polling this month. Although his approval started significantly higher at 47% when he first took office, it has remained consistently close to current levels since last April.
CONCERNS ABOUT AGING POLITICAL LEADERS
The survey also revealed widespread concern about the advanced age of America’s political leadership overall.
Nearly four out of five respondents – 79% – agreed that “elected officials in Washington, D.C., are too old to represent most Americans.” For context, senators average around 64 years old, while House members average 58 years of age.
Democratic survey participants showed slightly stronger support for bringing in younger politicians, with 58% saying Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, who is 75, has become too old for government service.
When Trump took the oath of office again this past January at age 78, he set a new record as the oldest person ever sworn in as president. Since returning to power, he has announced new policies and initiatives at a rapid-fire pace, implementing broad tariffs on imports from numerous nations and sending masked federal officers nationwide to enforce immigration laws more strictly.
His public statements have frequently carried an angry tone, including recent remarks where he expressed being “absolutely ashamed” after the conservative-majority Supreme Court ruled many of his tariffs violated the law. Trump subsequently imposed a new set of tariffs, claiming authority under different legal provisions. Last November, he attacked Democratic legislators who encouraged military personnel to disobey unlawful commands, labeling them as traitors deserving of capital punishment.
BIDEN’S AGE FACTOR IN 2024 ELECTION
Age-related concerns played a significant role in Trump’s 2024 election victory, as his predecessor Joe Biden faced widespread questions about declining mental sharpness during his time in office. Biden concluded his presidency at 82 years old – the most advanced age of any departing president in American history. Trump is positioned to surpass that milestone and will reach 80 this coming June.
When asked about mental acuity, only 45% of survey participants described Trump as “mentally sharp and able to deal with challenges,” representing a decline from 54% in a September 2023 Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Republican voters continue viewing their party’s president as mentally capable, with 81% describing him as sharp in the recent survey – virtually unchanged from the 2023 polling. Among Democratic respondents, those seeing the president as capable of handling challenges dropped to 19% from 29%. Independent voters showed the steepest decline, with 36% viewing Trump as maintaining his mental sharpness compared to 53% in 2023.
The most recent Reuters/Ipsos survey was conducted through online methods, gathering responses from 4,638 American adults across the country with a two percentage point margin of error.
