Biden Trails Trump In These 7 Key Swing States—As Most Key Biden Voters Say He’s Too Old, Poll Finds

Topline

President Joe Biden is trailing former President Donald Trump in seven swing states, according to a new poll that found almost twice as many voters say Biden, 81, is too old, compared to Trump, 77—as the president tries to flip the script on age concerns by highlighting Trump’s gaffes.

US President Joe Biden attends a meeting with Congressional leadership in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on February 27, 2024. (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images

Key Facts

Biden is trailing Trump by an average of five points in the seven swing states: North Carolina (9), Arizona (6), Georgia (6), Nevada (6), Pennsylvania (6), Wisconsin (4) and Michigan (2), the Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll found.

When asked about Trump’s and Biden’s age, 82% of voters said Biden or both candidates were too old, compared to 47% who said the same about Trump or both candidates, according to the poll of 4,955 registered swing state voters.

The feeling extends to Biden’s supporters and key demographics, with the majority of Black voters, young voters and women, and 70% of those who plan to vote for Biden, saying he is too old.

When it comes to feelings about how “dangerous” the candidates are, Biden has a significant advantage over Trump, with 45% of swing state voters saying Trump is dangerous, versus 34% who said the same about Biden.

Some 28% of those who plan to vote for Trump in November called him dangerous, fewer than half the share of Biden supporters who said the president is dangerous.

News Peg

The poll comes as Biden has launched a noticeable effort to combat the age concerns, arguing that it’s symbolic of his decades of experience in federal government. Biden has also taken jabs at Trump for rhetorical missteps on the campaign trail, made jokes about his own age and released the results of his annual physical on Wednesday that described him as a “healthy, active, robust 81-year-old,” White House physician Kevin O’Connor wrote.

Big Number

2. That’s how many points Trump leads Biden by nationally, according to Real Clear Politics’ polling average.

Key Background

The Biden and Trump campaigns have turned their focus to the general election since the start of the primaries in January as both candidates have won every contest for their respective parties so far. Biden has repeatedly attacked Trump as a threat to democracy, highlighting his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, while sharply criticizing some of Trump’s more controversial statements on the campaign trail, including his echoing of Nazi propaganda to describe immigrants and disparaging remarks about NATO allies. Trump, meanwhile, has centered his campaign around his own legal woes, claiming his four criminal indictments and various civil cases are the product of a justice system co-opted by Biden’s allies seeking to prevent him from being elected again (the prosecutions are led by state-level district attorneys and a federal special counsel who operates separately from Biden). Trump has also blamed Biden for the surge in migrants at the southern border, linking the president’s immigration policies to last week’s murder of Georgia college student Laken Riley, whose accused killer is an undocumented migrant from Venezuela. Trump effectively killed bipartisan legislation last month that would have installed new border controls, arguing it would help Biden’s re-election chances, while Biden has blamed Republicans’ opposition to the bill for a lack of stricter border measures.

What To Watch For

Trump and Biden will participate in dueling border visits Thursday, with Trump traveling to Eagle Pass, Texas, and Biden heading to Brownsville, Texas—as immigration has become a key issue in the 2024 election. The Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll found 62% of voters say Biden is “very responsible” or “somewhat responsible” for the increase in migrants crossing the southern border, while 43% blame Republicans in Congress and 35% blame the Trump administration.

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