Six in ten Americans believe that President Donald Trump has become more erratic as he ages, including a relevant slice of the Republican electorate, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll released this Tuesday, February 24.
The inquiry, carried out over six days and concluded on Monday, takes place on the eve of the annual State of the Union address, which Trump, 79, will deliver to Congress, after a month marked by public reprimands to lawmakers and judges, Reuters highlights.
In total, 61% of respondents said Trump “has become erratic with age.” The perception is particularly high among Democrats (89%), but it also appears among independents (64%) and Republicans (30%), according to the same data released. Asked by the news agency to comment on the research, the White House did not respond.
Despite this, the evaluation of the president’s performance “remained relatively stable”. Trump’s approval rating is at 40%, two percentage points higher than at the beginning of the month, while the 47% figure recorded at the beginning of his term has not been repeated; Since April, approval has fluctuated just one to two points around the current level, the survey indicates.
The issue of age continues to weigh on the political debate in Washington. Around 79% of participants agreed with the statement that those elected in the capital “are too old to represent the majority of Americans”. The average age is approximately 64 years old in the Senate and 58 in the House of Representatives, highlights Reuters. Among Democrats, 58% said Senate leader Chuck Schumer, 75, is too old to continue working in government.
Trump returned to power in January 2025, at the age of 78, becoming the oldest president to take office in United States history. Since then, it has moved forward at a rapid pace with policies and proposals, including sweeping tariffs on imports from dozens of countries and the mobilization of federal agents in actions against unauthorized immigration, according to the agency.
Reuters also highlights “the combative tone” frequently used by the president with two examples: last week, he stated that he was “absolutely embarrassed” by the fact that the Supreme Court, with a conservative majority, had overturned many of his tariffs because he considered them illegal; the “attack” launched in November against Democratic lawmakers who urged the military to refuse illegal orders, calling them traitors who could face the penalty of execution.
The topic gained relevance in the last presidential elections. Trump won in 2024, in part because then-Democratic President Joe Biden was widely seen as having lost mental acuity with age, recalls Reuters. Biden finished his term at age 82, longer than any president in US history; Trump will turn 80 in June and, if he stays in office, could surpass that record.
In the February survey, 45% of respondents described Trump as “mentally lucid and capable of dealing with challenges”, below the 54% recorded in a Reuters/Ipsos survey carried out in September 2023. The difference is marked mainly by party affiliation: 81% of Republicans consider him “lucid”, among Democrats this perception fell to 19% (from 29% in 2023). Among those who do not identify with any party, 36% say they maintain their mental acuity, compared to 53% in 2023, according to figures cited by Reuters.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online among 4,638 adults across the country and has a margin of error of two percentage points.
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