Monday’s CBS Mornings decided to do its best David Ignatius impression by providing their liberal viewership with what could only be described as flashing emergency lights in the form of CBS’s latest polling showing that not only did former President Trump have a one-point national lead over President Biden, but it showed only 34 percent of voters believed Biden could finish a second term (which would end in 2028).
The chyron tried to cloak the issue in a both-sides problem given Trump was only three years younger and would also be an octogenarian if he were to receive another term (which he’d be limited to given he served from 2017-2021): “Age a Concern in Presidential Race; CBS News Poll Shows Voters Concerned About Candidates’ Ages”.
Opening the second story in a week that alluded to Biden’s age, co-host Tony Dokoupil began with the head-to-head matchup before noting that Trump’s lead was thanks to “many who responding say[ing] age is a factor” and “Democrats [are] going to have a breakdown when they see these numbers.”
Chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes quipped that it’s “a possibility” as “Republicans have honed in on President Biden’s age as they make their case against him, and this poll shows that strategy is having an impact” with “[n]ot just among GOP voters, but among independents and Democrats, too.”
“Even those who support him say they worry about someone who is already 80 years old remaining in the job until he’s 86,” she added.
Digging into the numbers, she noted that Biden’s age is placed “in stark relief” when considering the CBS News poll as having found “[o]nly one-third of respondents” (34 percent) “think Mr. Biden would be likely to finish a second term if re-elected while 55 percent think his likely Republican rival, Donald Trump, would finish his term, even though he was born just three years after Mr. Biden.”
In the graphic but not in Cordes's voice-over, another 44 percent of voters believed Biden would quit before the end of a hypothetical second term whereas only 16 percent see it as a possibility for Trump.
The piece then went to three soundbites from Democratic voters in wealthy and trending blue Chester County, Pennsylvania with two saying a president needed to be more youthful and possess more energy while another lamented “he looks old” but “his ideas” are “youthful.”
Cordes threw a bone to Team Biden, citing the White House physician as “say[ing] his stiffened gait is a product of spinal arthritis, and a recent foot fracture, but that, otherwise, he is a healthy, vigorous 80-year-old male.”
Surprisingly, she showed a sample of a longer exchange she had with the ever-inept White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre during Friday’s briefing before appearing back live and pointing out that Americans writ large are already dreading a Biden vs. Trump general election and a problematic sign about the country (click “expand”):
JEAN-PIERRE [on 09/15/23]: 80’s the new 40. Didn’t you hear?
CORDES: But the poll shows that voters’ worries go beyond physical fitness. Respondents were far more likely to say that only Trump and not Mr. Biden has the cognitive and mental health to serve. [TO JEAN-PIERRE, on 09/15/23] Why do you think so many Americans still say they have concerns about someone in their 80s being president?
JEAN-PIERRE [on 09/15/23]: You know, I can’t speak to every American out there and their concerns. What I can speak to is what this President has done. I can speak to his experience. I can speak to the wisdom that he has. I can speak to his record.
CORDES: One thing Democrats and Republicans seem to agree on, they don’t want a Biden-Trump rematch. 64 percent said that that would make them feel that the political system is broken, and only eight percent think that these are the two best candidates for the job.
Not surprisingly, co-host and Democratic donor Gayle King tried to grease the skids, wondering what the one voter meant by “youthful,” but Cordes shot that down with the obvious: “Probably ideas you agree with, right? But the White House has figured out they can’t ignore this anymore and think humor might be the best weapon.”
Co-host Nate Burleson also swooped in for the White House, which drew multiple affirmations from Dokoupil and King: “I think it’s less about age and more about the mental and physical ability to lead the country.”
To see the relevant CBS transcript from September 18, click “expand.”
CBS Mornings
September 18, 2023
7:10 a.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: America Decides; Age a Concern in Presidential Race; CBS News Poll Shows Voters Concerned About Candidates’ Ages]
TONY DOKOUPIL: We’re going on — to turn to poll numbers. CBS News’s latest poll numbers on the presidential race showing that former President Donald Trump is leading President Biden by one point. That’s a statistical tie. This among likely voters, if Trump is the Republican nominee. Many who responded say age is a factor for them in their decision. Nancy Cordes is here to break down the numbers. Nancy, Democrats going to have a breakdown when they see the numbers. Good morning.
NANCY CORDES: That’s a possibility, Tony. Good morning. Republicans have honed in on President Biden’s age as they make their case against him, and this poll shows that strategy is having an impact. Not just among GOP voters, but among independents and Democrats, too. Even those who support him say they worry about someone who is already 80 years old remaining in the job until he’s 86.
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN [on 06/27/23]: I know I’m 198 years old. But all kidding aside —
CORDES: Concerns about age are nothing new for President Biden, but the latest CBS News poll puts the problem in stark relief. Only one-third of respondents think Mr. Biden would be likely to finish a second term if re-elected while 55 percent think his likely Republican rival, Donald Trump, would finish his term, even though he was born just three years after Mr. Biden.
CHESTER COUNTY DEMOCRAT #1: Do I wish we had a younger president? Absolutely.
CORDES: CBS News spoke to Democratic voters in West Chester, Pennsylvania, about their concerns this weekend.
CHESTER COUNTY DEMOCRAT #2: We need someone with more energy level.
DEBRA SCHULTHEIS: Well when I see him move, he looks old. When I hear him and his ideas, I think they’re — they’re youthful.
[REPORTERS SHOUTING]
CORDES: Mr. Biden’s doctor says his stiffened gait is a product of spinal arthritis, and a recent foot fracture, but that, otherwise, he is a healthy, vigorous 80-year-old male.
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE [on 09/15/23]: 80’s the new 40. Didn’t you hear?
CORDES: But the poll shows that voters’ worries go beyond physical fitness. Respondents were far more likely to say that only Trump and not Mr. Biden has the cognitive and mental health to serve. [TO JEAN-PIERRE, on 09/15/23] Why do you think so many Americans still say they have concerns about someone in their 80s being president?
JEAN-PIERRE [on 09/15/23]: You know, I can’t speak to every American out there and their concerns. What I can speak to is what this President has done. I can speak to his experience. I can speak to the wisdom that he has. I can speak to his record.
CORDES: One thing Democrats and Republicans seem to agree on, they don’t want a Biden-Trump rematch. 64 percent said that that would make them feel that the political system is broken, and only eight percent think that these are the two best candidates for the job.
DOKOUPIL: A small number.
GAYLE KING: That’s right. It’s big country with a lot of people. A lot of people are asking that question. Here we are again. I’m trying to figure out, Nancy, what’s the youthful idea?
NATE BURLESON: Mmmmm.
KING: I like that.
CORDES: Probably ideas you agree with, right?
DOKOUPIL: Right.
KING: There you go.
CORDES: But the White House has figured out they can’t ignore this anymore —
KING: Yes.
CORDES: — and think humor might be the best weapon.
KING: Yes.
BURLESON: I think it’s less about age and more about the mental and physical ability —
KING: Exactly.
DOKOUPIL: Yeah.
BURLESON: — to lead the country.
KING: Exactly right.
BURLESON: Nancy, thank you.
