News/Commentary

New poll is mocked for conclusion, ‘Most Americans say Trump is mentally, physically unfit to serve’

May 5, 2026 | | Print Article

The findings of a new corporate media poll made for a convenient headline about President Donald Trump’s fitness to serve while smacking of a slanted agenda.

“You misspelled Biden…”

In recent days, as the midterm elections approach within six months, discussion of the balance of Congress has ramped up, with talking heads heavily favoring treating the commander-in-chief as a burden for campaigning lawmakers.

Thanks to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll, a new level of mistrust has been added to the media in the wake of widespread gaslighting on then-President Joe Biden’s mental acuity, as a question concerning Trump’s “mental sharpness” is emphasized.

In addition to ABC News’ own coverage with the headline, “Two-thirds of Americans say country is headed in the wrong direction,” The Hill’s reporting on the poll highlighted, “Most Americans say Trump is mentally, physically unfit to serve effectively.”

Details from the poll of 2,560 respondents, out of which more than a third were said to have sat out of the 2024 presidential election, explained that participants were given choices to the question “Do you think these do or don’t apply to Trump?”

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Among those, the option, “He has the mental sharpness it takes to serve effectively as president,” found 40% saying it applies, 59% contending it does not apply, and 1% skipping providing an answer.

The Hill further highlighted, “Comparatively, 55 percent of U.S. adults said Trump is not in good enough physical health to serve as president, while 44 percent disagreed and 1 percent of survey participants skipped the question. More than half of respondents, 54 percent, said they do not believe the president is a strong leader. Sixty-seven percent of survey participants also said they don’t think Trump carefully considers important decisions.”

The data comes on the heels of a report from CNN senior data analyst Harry Enten about a Reuters poll that showed more Americans blame Trump for the current spike in gas prices connected to Operation Epic Fury than previously faulted Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, or Biden for how their policies impacted fuel pumps.

Of course, none of that should come as a surprise given Media Research Center analysis of network news coverage that concluded over the one-month span of March 16 through April 15, coverage of the operation in Iran averaged 88% negative. An accumulated total of nearly six and a half hours amounted to 93% negative coverage from ABC, 92% negative coverage from CBS, and 79% negative coverage from ABC.

Likewise, MRC analysts found only 5% of coverage on the failure to fund the Department of Homeland Security included blame for the Democrats who’d refused to buckle on opposition to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

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Given how tempered coverage was under Biden when gas prices reached record highs and 40-year-high inflation crippled consumers, along with the rest of the policy problems endured throughout his administration, reactions to the polling data and the manner in which it was presented left many understandably in doubt that the figures were come by honestly and truly represented the sentiment of the American people.

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Kevin Haggerty
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