Joe Biden Could Be Replaced for 2024, Half of Americans Say

Nearly half of registered voters in the United States believe President Joe Biden could be replaced as the Democratic nominee for president on the November ballot, according to a new poll.

The poll from Monmouth University also found that more registered voters view former President Donald Trump as mentally fit to carry out the job of the president than those who think 81-year-old Biden is mentally fit to do so.

The president's age and cognitive abilities have come under renewed scrutiny following a report from Special Counsel Robert Hur that raised questions about Biden's memory.

Hur's report described Biden as an "elderly man with a poor memory," and the president has since faced blistering criticism in op-eds published by left-leaning media outlets, with some even calling for him to step aside.

The Monmouth University poll asked registered voters if they believed it was likely that Biden could be replaced as the Democratic Party's presidential candidate in the coming election.

Almost half of respondents (48 percent) said they believed it was likely that Biden could be replaced, with 20 percent saying it was very likely and 28 percent saying it was somewhat likely. A further 23 percent said it was not too likely, 27 percent said it was not at all likely and 1 percent didn't know.

Newsweek reached out to the Biden campaign via email for comment.

When asked the same question about 77-year-old Trump, Biden's presumptive rival in the November general election, 10 percent of respondents said the former president was very likely to be replaced and 22 percent said it was somewhat likely. A further 26 percent said it was not too likely, 40 percent said it was not at all likely and 2 percent didn't know.

The questions were put to 822 registered and the poll was conducted from February 8 to 12. The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 4.2 percent.

The special counsel's report was published on February 8 and the president made a televised address on the same day responding to it. During those remarks, Biden responded with anger to Hur's suggestion that he "did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died."

The Monmouth University poll also asked respondents whether they believed Biden and Trump have "the mental and physical stamina necessary to carry out the job of president."

Just 12 percent said they were very confident in Biden's stamina, 20 percent said they were somewhat confident, and 15 percent said they were not too confident. A further 52 percent of respondents said they were not at all confident and 1 percent didn't know.

When it came to Trump, 36 percent of respondents said they were very confident in his mental and physical stamina, while 15 percent said they were somewhat confident. Ten percent said they were not too confident, 38 percent said they were not at all confident, while 1 percent answered: "don't know."

Despite the Monmouth poll's findings, political scientists who spoke to Newsweek this week suggested it would be extraordinarily difficult to replace Biden as the 2024 Democratic candidate. Primary filing deadlines have already passed in 44 states and a contested convention could mean chaos for the party.

"Biden's time to exit was months ago when potential replacements could have vied for delegates through the normal primary process," Thomas Gift, founding director of the Centre on U.S. Politics at University College London, told Newsweek.

"Throwing the Democrat National Convention into a tailspin, with no obvious heir apparent, doesn't seem like an obviously better choice than the status quo," he said.