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By Ewan Palmer
News Reporter
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Nearly a third of independent voters believe that Donald Trump's age will "severely limit" his ability to be president, according to a poll.
An Economist/YouGov survey of 1,604 U.S. adults found that 34 percent think the 78-year-old Republican's age will be a major issue if he returns to the White House in January 2025.
When broken down further, the results show that 32 percent of independent voters, who could prove vital in the 2024 election in the key swing states, believe that Trump's health and age would affect his ability to fulfill his duties as president if elected in November.
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This figure is more than the number of independent voters who think Trump's age will have "little effect" on his ability to be president (29 percent) or have no effect at all (24 percent).
The issue of Trump's age possibly hindering his 2024 election hopes was raised after President Joe Biden, 81, ended his reelection campaign and endorsed 59-year-old Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. Harris has since seen waves of enthusiasm and support, especially among young voters.
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Despite being only three years younger than Biden, Trump hadn't faced the same level of public concern or scrutiny that he is too old or lacks the cognitive ability to run for president again.
After Biden ended his reelection campaign, Trump became the oldest presidential nominee in U.S. history. If Trump wins November's election, he could overtake Biden as the oldest-ever sitting United States president.
The Economist/YouGov survey showed that a majority of voters (56 percent) still believe that Trump's age will have little or no effect on his ability to be president.
In comparison, the survey shows that only 7 percent of U.S. adults believe Harris' age will affect her ability to be president, with 80 percent saying it will have little or no effect.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's office via email for comment.
During a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, Trump backpedaled on his previous comments about Biden being too old.
Trump made the remarks while discussing Special Counsel Robert Hur's report into Biden's handling of classified documents, which described the president as a "sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory."
"The special counsel, which is basically a special prosecutor, judged him to be essentially mentally incompetent with poor memory but a nice old guy," Trump said.
"He's not old. You know, 81 is not old. I have friends that are 95 that are...Bernie Marcus, founder of Home Depot, 95 years old, still sharp."
Trump later labeled Biden as a "bad 81-year-old" who is "destroying our country."
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