WASHINGTON: A poll finds that a growing share of US adults doubt that 81-year-old President Joe Biden has the memory and acuity for the job, turning his coming State of the Union address into something of a real-time audition for a second term.
Roughly 6 in 10 say they’re not very or not at all confident in Biden’s mental capability to serve effectively as president, according to a new survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That’s a slight increase from January 2022, when about half of those polled expressed similar concerns.
By the same token, nearly 6 in 10 also say they lack confidence in the mental capability of former President Donald Trump, the 77-year-old Republican front-runner.
For many voters, this year’s election looks like a showdown for the world’s toughest job between two men who are well beyond the standard retirement age. The next president will probably need to steer through global conflicts, fix domestic emergencies and work with a dysfunctional Congress.
Biden is likely to address those challenges and more in his State of the Union address on Thursday as he tries to convince Americans that he deserves another term.
Going into the big event, just 38 percent of US adults approve of how Biden is handling his job as president, while 61 percent disapprove. Democrats (74 percent) are much likelier than independents (20 percent) and Republicans (6 percent) to favor his performance. But there’s broad discontent on the way Biden is handling a variety of issues, including the economy, immigration and foreign policy.
About 4 in 10 Americans approve of the way Biden is handling each of these issues: health care, climate change, abortion policy and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. But people are less satisfied by Biden’s handling of immigration (29 percent), the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians (31 percent) and the economy (34 percent) — all of which are likely to come up in the speech before a joint session of Congress.
Nearly 6 in 10 (57 percent) Americans think the national economy is somewhat or much worse off than before Biden took office in 2021. Only 3 in 10 adults say it’s better under his leadership. Still, people are more optimistic about the state of their own bank accounts: 54 percent say their personal finances are good.
Many respondents to the survey were deeply pessimistic about their likely choices in November because of age and the risk of cognitive decline.
Paul Miller, himself 84, said Biden is just too old — and so is Trump.
“He doesn’t seem to have the mental whatever to be a president,” Miller said of Biden. He added that Trump is “too old, too, and half crazy.”
The retiree from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, said he voted for Trump in 2020 but he wouldn’t do so again.
“I don’t think I’m going to vote for either one of them,” he said. “I hope somebody else is available.”
The president faces added pressure about his age after unflattering descriptions of him contained in a special counsel’s report that did not recommend criminal prosecution of Biden for his mishandling of classified records, unlike Trump who was indicted for keeping classified material in his Florida home. The report said that Biden’s memory was “hazy,” “fuzzy,” “faulty,” “poor” and had “significant limitations.”
Biden has tried to deflect concerns by joking about his age and taking jabs at Trump’s own gaffes. Yet the president’s age is a liability that has overshadowed his policy achievements on infrastructure, manufacturing and addressing climate change.
About one-third of Democrats said they’re not very or not at all confident in Biden’s mental capability in the new survey, up from 14 percent in January 2022. Only 40 percent of Democrats said they’re extremely or very confident in Biden’s mental abilities, with approximately 3 in 10 saying they’re “somewhat” confident.
And in a major risk for Biden, independents are much more likely to say that they lack confidence in his mental abilities (80 percent) compared with Trump’s (56 percent).
Republicans are generally more comfortable with Trump’s mental capabilities than Democrats are with Biden’s. In the survey, 59 percent of Republicans are extremely or very confident that Trump has the mental abilities to be president. An additional 20 percent are somewhat confident, and 20 percent are not very or not at all confident.
But if there is one thing Democrats and Republicans can agree upon, it’s that the other party’s likely nominee is not mentally up to the task. About 9 in 10 Republicans say Biden lacks the mental capability to serve as president, while a similar share of Democrats say that about Trump.
Part of Biden’s problem is that his policies have yet to break through the daily clutter of life.
Sharon Gallagher, 66, worries about inflation. She voted for Biden in 2020, but believes he has not done enough for the economy. She also feels Trump is a bit too quick to anger. The Sarasota, Florida, resident said she doesn’t have the bandwidth to really judge their policies.
“I don’t pay enough attention to politics to even know,” Gallagher said. “I have grandchildren living with me and I have children’s shows on all day.”
Justin Tjernlund, 40, from Grand Rapids, Michigan, said Biden “seems like he’s mostly still there,” but even if he was in decline he has “a whole army of people to help him do the job.” Trjenlund said he voted for Trump in 2020 and plans to do so again because the Republican is “interesting” and “refreshing.”
Still, because of both candidates’ ages, Greg Olivo, 62, said he plans to focus on Vice President Kamala Harris and whomever Trump, if he’s the nominee, picks for a running mate.
“Keep a close eye on the vice president,” said the machinist from Valley City, Ohio, who voted for Biden in 2020 and would do so again. “Because that person will probably be the president in four years, one way or another.”
As Biden prepares to address the nation, more than 6 in 10 US adults doubt his mental capability
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As Biden prepares to address the nation, more than 6 in 10 US adults doubt his mental capability
- Roughly 6 in 10 say they’re not very or not at all confident in Biden’s mental capability to serve effectively as president
- Nearly 57 percent Americans think the national economy is somewhat or much worse off than before Biden took office in 2021
Erdogan proposes new Putin-Zelensky-Trump meeting in Turkiye
- Ukraine and Russia agreed on Monday to exchange severely injured prisoners of war as well as those under 25
ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday reiterated his willingness to host a meeting between the American, Russian and Ukrainian leaders in an effort to end the war in Ukraine.
“My greatest wish for both sides is to bring both (Russia’s) Vladimir Putin and (Ukraine’s Volodymyr) Zelensky together in Istanbul or Ankara, and even to bring (US President) Mr. (Donald) Trump to their side, if they accept,” he said.
Turkiye, he said, would “take steps” to facilitate such a meeting, following direct talks between the two sides in Istanbul on Monday.
Erdogan said it was a big achievement that Monday’s talks even took place.
Ukraine carried out one of its most brazen and successful attacks ever on Russian soil on the weekend, its drones ambushing dozens of strategic bombers at bases deep inside Russia.
“It is a success in itself that the meeting happened despite what happened yesterday,” he said, hailing the talks as “magnificent.”
At Monday’s meeting, which lasted just over an hour, Ukraine and Russia agreed to exchange severely injured prisoners of war as well as those under 25, alongside the remains of 6,000 troops killed in combat, Kyiv said.
“These figures given by both Russia and Ukraine... (are) very, very important in terms of showing how important these Istanbul meetings are. And we are proud of this,” Erdogan added.
‘Without a doubt true that Israel has committed war crimes’ in Gaza: Biden official
- Matthew Miller: Biden administration debated whether to cut off arms supply
- Denies genocide taking place, but Israeli military not being held ‘accountable’
LONDON: A senior official in the administration of former US President Joe Biden told Sky News on Monday that he believes Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza.
Former State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said he does not believe genocide is taking place, but it is “without a doubt true that Israel has committed war crimes,” and Israeli forces are not being held “accountable” for their actions.
“There are two ways to think about the commission of war crimes,” he told the “Trump 100” podcast. “One is, if the state has pursued a policy of deliberately committing war crimes or is acting recklessly in a way that aids and abets war crimes. Is the state committing war crimes?
“That, I think, is an open question. I think what’s almost certainly not an open question is that there have been individual incidents that have been war crimes — where Israeli soldiers, members of the Israeli military, have committed war crimes.”
Miller said there had been internal clashes between senior White House staff about the US stance on the war almost from the beginning of the conflict.
“There were disagreements all along the way about how to handle policy. Some of those were big disagreements, some of those were little disagreements,” he added.
“The administration did debate, at times, whether and when to cut off weapons to Israel. You saw us in the spring of 2024 stop the shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel because we didn’t believe they’d use those in a way that was appropriate in Gaza.”
He hinted that in particular, there had been tension between Biden and Antony Blinken, his secretary of state, but said: “I’ll probably wait and let the secretary speak for himself … but I will say, speaking generally … it’s true about every senior official in government that they don’t win every policy fight that they enter into. And what you do is you make your best case to the president.”
Miller added that Biden’s staunch military support of Israel was also a source of contention, but that public dissent against it may have also encouraged Hamas.
“There were debates about whether to suspend other arms deliveries, and you saw at times us hold back certain arms while we negotiated the use of those arms … But we found ourselves in this really tough position, especially in that time period when it really came to a head … We were at a place where — I’m thinking of the way I can appropriately say this — the decisions and the thinking of (the) Hamas leadership weren’t always secret to the US and to our partners.”
He added: “It was clear to us in that period that there was a time when our public discussion of withholding weapons from Israel, as well as the protests on college campuses in the US, and the movement of some European countries to recognize the state of Palestine — appropriate discussions, appropriate decisions, protests are appropriate — but all of those things together were leading the leadership of Hamas to conclude that they didn’t need to agree to a ceasefire, they just needed to hold out for a little bit longer and they could get what they always wanted.
“Now, the thing that I look back on, that I’ll always ask questions of myself about, and I think this is true for others in government, is in that intervening period between the end of May and the middle of January (2025), when thousands of Palestinians were killed, innocent civilians who didn’t want this war, had nothing to do with it, was there more that we could’ve done to pressure the Israeli government to agree to that ceasefire? I think at times there probably was.”
Biden’s popularity waned as the 2024 presidential election approached, with the war in Gaza weighing heavily on his polling.
Miller called US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, “an extremely capable individual,” adding: “I know the people in the Biden administration who worked with him during the first negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire thought that he was capable.”
Miller continued: “I do think it’s extremely important that when people sit down with an envoy of the United States, they know that that envoy speaks for the president of the United States, and it’s very clear that Witkoff has that, and that’s an extremely valuable asset to bring to the table.”
Poland’s new president poses challenge for EU, Ukraine ties
- Karol Nawrocki opposes Ukraine’s NATO accession, criticized by Kyiv ambassador
- His euroskeptic stance echoes central European conservatives
WARSAW: The victory of nationalist Karol Nawrocki in Poland’s presidential election looks set to strain relations with Ukraine and embolden Donald Trump-inspired conservatives in central Europe, analysts and diplomats said on Monday.
Nawrocki won a knife-edge vote that pitted him against Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, who was supported by the ruling centrists Civic Coalition (KO), dealing a major blow to the pro-European government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
While remaining committed to helping Ukraine’s effort to fend off Russian’s invasion, Nawrocki opposes Kyiv joining Western alliances such as NATO.
Nawrocki rejects suggestions that his stance is pro-Russian. But his campaign, backed by the nationalist opposition party Law and Justice (PiS), tapped into a mix of weariness with Ukrainian refugees and worries Poland could be drawn into the war over the border that many Polish voters feel.
All parties in Poland have ruled out sending troops to Ukraine.
Although real executive power lies with the government, the Polish president has veto powers, meaning he can stymie the government’s agenda. The head of state can also propose laws.
Nawrocki signed a declaration saying he would not ratify Ukraine’s accession to NATO, as it could result in the alliance being drawn into a conflict with Russia, a move that was sharply criticized by Kyiv’s ambassador to Warsaw and which marked a departure from previous Polish policy under both PiS and KO.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated Nawrocki on Monday and said he looked forward to future “fruitful cooperation” with Poland.
But elsewhere in Ukraine, the mood was less positive.
“The choice of the Poles will most likely complicate the dialogue within the EU and our European integration,” Ukrainian lawmaker Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze was quoted as saying by Interfax-Ukraine.
A European diplomat based in Warsaw said that while policy on Ukraine’s future in the EU and NATO would continue to be set by Tusk’s government, Nawrocki could create “a shift in tone that’s not going to be helpful.”
In his role as head of Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance, Nawrocki has been a harsh critic of what he said was Ukraine’s reluctance to exhume the remains of Polish victims killed by Ukrainian nationalists during World War Two.
Euroskeptic politicians
Nawrocki’s campaign echoed the language of other euroskeptic politicians in central Europe, lambasting a perceived over-reach of Brussels into areas that they consider should be the domain of individual countries.
“Yes, we want a common market, we want development, we want to be a strong voice in the European Union, but we do not want our freedom in the entire scope of social life to be decided by the Brussels elites,” Nawrocki told a campaign rally in March.
The election of Tusk, a former European Council president, as prime minister in 2023 catapulted Poland back to the heart of European decision-making.
He succeeded in unblocking billions in EU funds that had been held back over rule-of-law concerns, even as critics said Warsaw had not actually implemented the necessary court reforms as a result of PiS-ally President Andrzej Duda’s veto.
“Of course it (the election result) will mean a lot to the prime minister of Poland, who now instead of being a very strong force in the EU will be more marginalized,” said a second European diplomat.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, himself facing a tough election battle in 2026, hailed Nawrocki’s “fantastic victory” on Monday.
“This is definitely emboldening for... all pro-Trumpist or pro-MAGA euroskeptics,” said Botond Feledy, a geopolitical analyst at Red Snow Consulting, adding that in Hungary it could add strength to Orban’s argument that protecting national identity is more important than EU money.
With the ‘co-habitation’ of a government and president from different political camps looking likely to continue at least until parliamentary elections in 2027, a third diplomat said that they hoped “they will not be spending more energy on fighting each other than they will... (on) Poland’s leadership in Europe.”
Stanley Bill, Professor of Polish Studies at the University of Cambridge said that Tusk’s pro-European government would set foreign policy, but that if Nawrocki uses “an even more aggressive rhetoric against the European Union than Duda has... that’s clearly going to create a greater impression of chaos.”
Massive plume of ash, gas spews from Italy’s Mount Etna
ROME: A huge plume of ash, gas and rock spewed forth Monday from Italy’s Mount Etna, Europe’s largest active volcano, after a portion of its southeastern crater likely collapsed, authorities said.
Images showed a massive grey cloud billow forth from the volcano on the island of Sicily, beginning about 11:24 am local time (0924 GMT), according to the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV).
Surveillance cameras showed “a pyroclastic flow probably produced by a collapse of material from the northern flank of the Southeast Crater,” the agency said.
A pyroclastic flow occurs when volcanic rock, ash and hot gasses surge from volcanos. They are extremely dangerous.
The explosive activity “had transitioned to a lava fountain,” INGV said, with the plume of ash expected to dissipate toward the southwest.
A red alert issued for aviation authorities said the height of the volcanic cloud was estimated at 6.5 kilometers (more than four miles).
The nearby Catania airport was still in operation.
Mali army camp in Timbuktu under attack: residents and officials
BAMAKO: An army camp in the Malian city of Timbuktu on Monday was under attack by “terrorists” and heavy gunfire was heard, military and local officials and residents told AFP.
Junta-ruled Mali has been gripped since 2012 by violence from jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Daesh group as well as community and criminal groups.
“We are dealing with terrorists attacking Timbuktu. We are fighting back,” a military source said.
“The camp in the city center has been attacked,” the source added.
A local official said: “The terrorists arrived today in Timbuktu with a vehicle packed with explosives. The vehicle exploded near the (military) camp. Shooting is currently continuing.”
UN staff were instructed in a message “to take shelter” and “stay away from windows” due to “shooting in the city of Timbuktu.”
A resident reported having heard “heavy gunfire in the city” which “seems to come from the side of the (military) camp.”
A local journalist speaking by telephone said “the city is under fire.”
“This morning our city was attacked by terrorist groups. Shots were heard near the military camp and the airport. We all returned home,” he said.
The ancient city of Timbuktu, once known as the “city of 333 saints” for the Muslim holy men buried there, was subject to major destruction while under the control of jihadists in 2012 and 2013.
