Even some of President Donald Trump’s most loyal supporters are beginning to question his sharpness, according to a new poll.
The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted between February 18-23 among 4,638 adults nationwide, showed that 30 percent of Republicans think Trump has become erratic with age, while 17 percent think he is not mentally sharp or able to deal with challenges.
The majority of Americans agree that Trump has become erratic with age, with 61 percent saying so overall, while 49 percent said the 79-year-old is not mentally sharp or able to deal with challenges. Some 45 percent disagreed with that point of view, down from 54 percent in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in September 2023.
Unsurprisingly, Democrats were the most likely group to say Trump has become erratic with age (89 percent) and that he is not mentally sharp or able to deal with challenges (78 percent). Meanwhile, 64 percent of independents described him as erratic with age, and 53 percent said he is not mentally sharp or able to deal with challenges.
Among Democrats, just 19 percent now say he is capable of managing the demands of the job, down from 29 percent previously. Support has eroded among independents as well, with only 36 percent viewing Trump as mentally sharp — a significant decline from 53 percent in 2023.
In response, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told the Daily Beast: “President Trump’s sharpness, unmatched energy, and historic accessibility stand in stark contrast to what we saw during the past four years when the failing legacy media intentionally covered up Joe Biden’s serious mental and physical decline from the American people.
“Pushing these fake and desperate narratives now about President Trump is why Americans’ trust in the media just fell to a new all-time low.”
Trump’s health and mental sharpness have often been under scrutiny, fueled by gaffes such as mistakenly calling Greenland “Iceland” in Davos last month and needing White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt to prompt him on the name of his father’s medical condition.
“He had one problem. At a certain age, about 86, 87, he started getting—what do they call it?” Trump said, with Leavitt interjecting, “Alzheimer’s.”
Trump has also been seen with bruises on his hands at official events, which he has sought to cover with makeup, as well as swollen ankles.
Last year, the White House disclosed that Trump had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, an age-related condition in which leg veins have difficulty circulating blood back to the heart.
The president has occasionally appeared drowsy at formal events, but he has dismissed concerns about his cognitive health, insisting he has “aced” multiple cognitive tests. Still, as New York Magazine has reported, Trump has never explained why he repeatedly takes such exams, which often involve relatively simple exercises such as drawing a clock or identifying animals.
His niece, Mary Trump, a vocal critic, has publicly speculated about parallels with her grandfather’s decline.
“One of the first times I noticed it was at an event where he was being honored,” she told New York magazine. “He had this deer-in-the-headlights look, like he had no idea where he was.” She added, “Sometimes it doesn’t seem like he’s oriented to time and place. And on occasion, I do see that same look.”
Administration officials have rejected suggestions of any concealment. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller previously offered an emphatic defense, saying: “He can work harder, has a better memory, more stamina and energy than a normal mortal. The headline should be ‘The Superhuman President.’”
President Joe Biden leaves Mrs. Robino’s restaurant after having lunch with his sister Valerie Biden Owens in Wilmington, Delaware, on Feb. 10, 2024.
Elizabeth Frantz/ReutersEarlier this month, Trump himself brushed aside concerns during an interview with NBC’s Tom Llamas.
The 79-year-old said that he feels like he did in his twenties, despite ailing from multiple age-related health issues.
“How do you feel now as you approach 80,” Trump was asked by NBC’s Tom Llamas.
“I feel great. I mean, physically and mentally, I feel like I did 50 years ago,” the president replied, suggesting that time hadn’t touched him since he was 29. “It’s crazy.”
Trump added, “Now, there’ll be a time when I won’t be able to give you that answer. But that time hasn’t come, you know.”
Trump deflected further questions about his fitness for office by attacking former President Joe Biden, 83.
“I know people that are 95-years-old that are sharp as a tack, and Biden was a bad thing for old people. He’s the worst thing that ever happened to old people, because he obviously didn’t have it,” Trump said, before blasting the press for failing to “report the obvious.”
Trump, who returned to the White House in January 2025 at 78, became the oldest president ever inaugurated. Age had been a defining issue in the 2024 campaign, as Biden left office at 82 amid sustained doubts about his mental sharpness—the oldest president in U.S. history. Trump, who turns 80 in June, is on pace to eclipse that record if he completes his term.
