Fox News Poll: Voters distrust Biden administration on president’s mental fitness

Voters say they were aware of former President Joe Biden’s decline, and believe the administration lacked honesty and transparency about his mental fitness, with many wanting Congress to investigate the matter.

A new Fox News survey finds more than half, 52%, think it is important to investigate whether Biden advisors used an autopen without the president’s awareness, while 46% say it’s time to move on. 

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer is pursuing investigations against former Biden administration staff for allegedly covering up Biden’s mental decline and using an autopen for executive actions.

Views are split on whether advisors should be scrutinized for making key presidential decisions on behalf of Biden (50% investigate vs. 49% move on), while a majority opposes investigating whether Biden advisors covered up his decline (44% investigate vs. 55% move on).

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Among Democrats, one in five supports investigating whether there was a cover-up, while roughly one in four feels that way about using the autopen and making presidential decisions.

Overall, 68% of voters believe the previous administration was dishonest about Biden’s condition, including 52% of Democrats, 75% of Independents, and 81% of Republicans.

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Yet, while a majority agree there was a cover-up, they weren’t fooled.

Nearly 7 in 10 say they were aware of Biden’s cognitive condition even before his jaw-droppingly bad debate performance in June 2024. Some 28% say they knew he was in decline as soon as he took office, 21% say a couple of years into his term, and 19% after he started running for re-election.

Another 20% knew of Biden’s decline after his debate with Donald Trump. Fewer than 1 in 10 say he wasn’t in decline (9%).

These numbers are consistent with what voters said throughout Biden’s term. 

As early as November 2021, only one year after Biden was elected, Fox News surveys found that a 53% majority thought his age was interfering with his job as president, including more than one-quarter of Democrats. By the 2022 midterms, our Fox News Voter Analysis election survey found 57% of voters felt Biden lacked the mental capability to serve and, by July 2024, that grew to 65%.

"Somewhat lost in the kerfuffle about the exact timing of Biden’s decline is the fact that most knew he was losing it and had factored this into their vote choice long before the presidential debate," says Daron Shaw, a Republican who conducts the Fox News survey along with Democrat Chris Anderson. "Still, Biden’s reputation and legacy are clearly taking a hit as the real history of his administration is revealed." 

Biden’s current personal favorability is underwater by 13 points (43% favorable, 56% unfavorable), compared to -19 points in January. During the early days of his presidency, his ratings were net positive by 10 points (54% favorable, 44% unfavorable, April 2021).

Today, 75% of Democrats have a positive view of Biden, down from 95% four years ago. 

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Conducted June 13-16, 2025, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,003 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (149) and cellphones (566) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (288). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis, and voter file data.

Fox News’ Victoria Balara contributed to this report.