Voters do not express a high degree of confidence in either Joe Biden or Donald Trump across all five of the dimensions we asked about: mental and physical fitness for office, choosing good advisers, acting ethically in office, and respecting democracy. However, each candidate has relative strengths and weaknesses in the eyes of American voters.
Views of Biden
Biden draws the most confidence on respecting the country’s democratic institutions (38% are extremely or very confident) and acting ethically in office (34%).
Slightly fewer (30%) are at least very confident in Biden to pick good advisers.
By far, voters have the lowest level of confidence in Biden when it comes to having the mental and physical fitness to do the job. Fewer than a quarter of voters express a high degree of confidence in his mental (21%) and physical (15%) fitness.
In both cases, majorities say they are not too or not at all confident (62% are not confident in his mental fitness, 65% are not confident in his physical fitness).
Views of Trump
In contrast, Trump draws the most confidence for his physical and mental fitness for office. About four-in-ten (38%) are extremely or very confident that Trump has the mental fitness to be president, while nearly as many (36%) are as confident in his physical fitness for the job.
Fewer voters (28%) are highly confident in Trump to pick good advisers.
Trump is viewed most negatively for his respect for democracy and ability to act ethically in office. About a third of voters (34%) are at least very confident in Trump’s respect for democratic values, while 53% are not too or not at all confident. Roughly a quarter of voters (26%) are highly confident in Trump to act ethically in office; more than twice as many (59%) say they’re not too or not at all confident.
How Biden’s supporters view his personal traits
Biden draws broad confidence from his supporters on three traits:
- About three-quarters of Biden supporters (74%) are extremely or very confident that he respects the country’s democratic values.
- 67% are extremely or very confident he acts ethically in office.
- 60% are at least very confident he picks good advisers.
However, Biden draws much less confidence for his mental and physical fitness for the presidency:
- 43% of Biden’s supporters are extremely or very confident he has the mental fitness needed to do the job.
- 30% say he has the physical fitness to do the job.
About three-in-ten Biden supporters (31%) are somewhat confident in his mental fitness for office, while 26% have are not too or not at all confident.
Biden supporters are less confident in his physical fitness: 37% are somewhat confident, while 33% are not too or not at all confident – the most negative judgment across the five items.
How Trump’s supporters view his personal traits
Trump supporters are far more confident than Biden supporters in their preferred candidate’s mental and physical fitness:
- 74% of Trump supporters are extremely or very confident that Trump has the mental fitness to do the job.
- 68% say he has the necessary physical fitness.
Two-thirds of Trump supporters are extremely or very confident that Trump respects the country’s democratic values.
Fewer Trump supporters (55%) have a high level of confidence in Trump to pick good advisers: A third are somewhat confident, while 12% are not too or not at all confident.
Trump draws less confidence on acting ethically in office. About half of his supporters (52%) are extremely or very confident in his ethics, while 27% are somewhat confident. About one-in-five (21%) have are not too or not at all confident – the highest share across the five items.
Views of Biden’s presidency and retrospective evaluations of Trump’s time in office
More voters today say Trump was a good or great president (41%) than say Biden is a good or great president (28%). This difference is largely driven by Trump supporters’ highly positive views of Trump’s presidency: 81% say he was a good or great president.
Biden supporters are less positive about Biden’s tenure. Nearly six-in-ten (57%) say he is a good or great president. A third view him as average, which is far more than the share of Trump supporters who retrospectively rate his presidency as average (10%). Relatively small shares of each candidates’ supporters rate their respective presidencies as poor or terrible (10% among Biden supporters, 5% among Trump supporters).
In June 2020, during the last presidential campaign, voters were less negative when asked about what kind of president Biden would be.
Then, 43% thought he would be poor or terrible. Today, half of voters view Biden as a poor or terrible president. About three-in-ten (28%) thought he would be a good or great president, identical to the share who say he is today.
Retrospective views of Trump’s presidency are roughly similar to views during his time in office. However, fewer voters today rate Trump’s presidency as “terrible” (35%) than did so in 2021 (45%), after he left office, or in 2020 (42%), when he was still in office.
This largely is the result of a shift among Biden supporters: While a large majority (70%) currently views Trump’s presidency as terrible, fewer do so than in 2021 (83%) or 2020 (77%).
