A slight majority believes President Joe Biden was given “special treatment” after federal prosecutors decided not to pursue charges against him for mishandling classified documents, a recent poll revealed.
Fifty-three percent of respondents, including 29% of Democrats who participated in a Reuters-Ispos poll released Tuesday signaled they agree that “Biden received special treatment because he is the U.S. president.” Meanwhile, 64% of respondents, including half of Democrats, consider it believable that Biden illegally took the classified information in question.
Special counsel Robert Hur released a report on Feb. 8 detailing how Biden mishandled classified documents but said prosecutors would have a hard time convincing a jury to convict the octogenarian president because he can portray himself “as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” As a result, Biden was not prosecuted for his actions.
Less than half of voters, 46%, are at least somewhat familiar with Hur’s comments about Biden’s perceived mental competency and how that may affect a trial, according to the poll.
Some 78% of respondents, including 71% of Democrats, said they believe Biden is too old to work in government. Only 53% of respondents said they believe Biden’s likely 2024 opponent, former President Donald Trump, is too old to hold office. This disparity may, to some extent, be a result of Biden’s Feb. 8 press conference from the White House Diplomatic Reception Room.
Biden addressed the nation the night the Hur report came out, holding an impromptu press conference that began at roughly 8 p.m. The president’s late-night comments were described as “incoherent” by a number of viewers, with Biden at one point even referring to Abdel Fattah el Sisi, the president of Egypt, as “the president of Mexico.”
An emotional Biden lambasted Hur Thursday night over several parts of the report that the president believes were inappropriate to share, including the allegation that Biden had a hard time remembering when his son Beau died when questioned about it.
The same poll showed Biden trailing Trump in support, 37% to 34%, with 10% choosing to support another candidate, 12% saying they will not vote in November, and 8% not selecting a candidate but also not signaling whether they plan on casting a ballot.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Reuters-Ipsos poll surveyed 1,237 people between Feb. 9 and Feb 12.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the White House for comment.