Did Democrats try to conceal Biden's health status? What Americans said in poll

Miami Herald

5 days ago

Most Americans think there was a concerted effort to hide details about former President Joe Biden's health during the course of his presidency, according to new polling.
In the latest Economist/YouGov poll, 57% of respondents said they believe 'Democrats actively tried to conceal information' from the public that pertained to Biden's health. Just 22% disagreed, and 21% said they were not sure.
While majorities of Republicans and independents — 86% and 57%, respectively — said they believed a cover-up took place, only 28% of Democrats agreed.
The poll — conducted May 23-26 — also revealed that most Americans believe Biden was severely limited by his health and that he was not transparent about his health status while in the White House.
It comes a week after the release of 'Original Sin,' a book by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, which provides evidence of Biden's 'serious decline' and 'desperate efforts to hide the extent of that deterioration.'
Among the allegations included are that Biden forgot the names of his top aides, was shielded from Cabinet officers and that his staff discussed having him use a wheelchair.
Reports of Biden's decline had previously been reported, particularly by conservative media — a fact Tapper acknowledged in a recent interview with Megyn Kelly. 'I feel tremendous humility about my coverage,' the CNN anchor said.
The poll also comes after Biden, 82, announced on May 18 that he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has metastasized to his bones.
Following the announcement, President Donald Trump proposed, without evidence, that the former president had hid his cancer diagnosis.
Additional findings
In the poll — which sampled 1,660 U.S. adults — 58% of respondents said Biden's health and age 'severely limited his ability to do the job.' Meanwhile, 36% said it had little or no effect on his ability to carry out his duties.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there was a large partisan divide on this question. Most Republicans and independents — 83% and 58%, respectively — said Biden's age and health were greatly limiting, while 31% of Democrats said the same.
An even greater share of respondents said Biden's advanced age and health would have been a problem if was president now.
Seventy-six percent said Biden's age and health would severely limit his capacity to do his job if he had been reelected to serve another term, while 17% said they would have little or no effect.
Here, there was agreement across the political spectrum. Majorities of Republicans (87%), independents (77%) and Democrats (63%) said Biden would have been greatly impeded.
By contrast, fewer Americans think Trump's age and health affect his performance, according to the poll, which has a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points.
Less than one-third of respondents, 31%, said Trump, who is 78 years old, is severely limited by his age and health, while 59% said they have little or no effect.
A majority of respondents, 61%, also said that, as president, Biden was not very or not at all transparent about his physical health. Thirty-one percent said he was very or somewhat transparent.
In comparison, less than half of respondents, 45%, said Trump has been not very or not at all transparent when it comes to his health. A slightly smaller share, 42%, said he has been very or somewhat transparent.
Further, the survey indicated that most Americans want transparency to be mandated from their leadership.
Sixty-two percent said the president 'should be required to publicly release all medical information that might affect their ability to serve…' Meanwhile, 28% said the president, like other citizens, should be allowed 'to keep their medical records private.'