38% of Voters Think Biden Has Dementia

Nearly four-out-of-10 voters believe Joe Biden has dementia. Most voters, including just over half of Democrats, feel it is important for the likely Democratic presidential nominee to publicly address the issue.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 38% of Likely U.S. Voters think Biden is suffering from some form of dementia. Based on what they have seen and read, 48% disagree, but 14% are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Twenty percent (20%) of voters in his own party think Biden has dementia. But that compares to 66% of Republicans and 30% of voters not affiliated with either major party.

Critics contend that Biden’s frequent gaffes and confusing statements suggest he has dementia. Sixty-one percent (61%) of all voters believe it is important for Biden to address the dementia issue publicly, with 41% who say it is Very Important. Thirty-six percent (36%) say it is not important for Biden to speak out on the issue, including 19% who feel it is Not at All Important.

It is important to note that Rasmussen Reports did not define “dementia” in its questions. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, dementia is “a usually progressive condition (such as Alzheimer’s disease) marked by the development of multiple cognitive deficits (such as memory impairment, aphasia and the inability to plan and initiate complex behavior).”

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted June 25 and 28, 2020 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Eighty-six percent (86%) of voters say a candidate’s health is important to their vote, and 56% believe all major presidential candidates should release at least their most recent medical records to the public.

Fifty-one percent (51%) of both Democrats and unaffiliated voters agree that it is important for Biden to address the dementia issue publicly. This view is shared by 81% of Republicans.

Men are more likely than women to think Biden is suffering from some form of dementia and attach more importance to him speaking publicly about the issue.

Seniors are the most likely to believe Biden has dementia. The older the voter, the more likely they are to believe that it is Very Important for the White House hopeful to speak about the issue publicly.

Among voters who think Biden is suffering from dementia, 93% feel it is important for him to address the issue publicly, with 78% who say it is Very Important.

In mid-May, Biden still beat President Trump in a head-to-head matchup, perhaps in part because voters expressed slightly more confidence in the former vice president to handle the post-coronavirus economy.

One-in-four black voters agree with Biden that a black voter who chooses Trump over Biden is not really black. Biden later apologized for the remark.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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