By Jane Lewis | Wednesday February 25, 2026 | 4 min read
A growing share of Americans — including a notable minority within his own party — say they believe President Donald Trump is becoming more erratic as he ages, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos survey that underscores lingering questions about age and leadership in Washington.
The online poll, conducted between February 18 and 23 among 4,638 U.S. adults, paints a complicated picture of a country that remains deeply divided over Trump but increasingly uneasy about the broader issue of aging politicians.
Sixty-one percent of respondents said they believe Trump is becoming “erratic with age.” That view is nearly universal among Democrats, with 89% agreeing. Among independents, 64% said the description fits. Perhaps more strikingly, 30% of Republicans — nearly one in three — also said they see signs of growing unpredictability.
At the same time, the survey suggests Americans are conflicted. Forty-five percent of respondents said they believe Trump is “mentally sharp and able to deal with challenges.” Forty-nine percent said he is not. The split reflects a political reality in which voters often hold overlapping, even contradictory, impressions of public figures they see almost daily on television and social media.
Concerns about age are not limited to Trump. Seventy-nine percent of those surveyed said that elected officials in Washington, D.C., more broadly are “too old to represent most Americans.” That sentiment has been building for years as the average age of national leaders continues to climb. For many voters, frustration about aging leadership spans party lines.
Trump, who has long projected an image of vigor and stamina at rallies, has frequently dismissed questions about his mental acuity. Supporters argue that his blunt speaking style and improvisational rhetoric are part of his political brand rather than evidence of cognitive decline. Critics, however, point to rambling speeches, verbal slips, and shifting narratives as signs of instability.
Some observers have speculated about whether age-related cognitive decline could be a factor. Trump’s father, Fred Trump, was diagnosed with dementia before his death in 1999, a fact that has occasionally surfaced in public discussions about hereditary risk. Medical experts caution, however, that family history alone is not proof of an individual diagnosis, and no formal medical evaluation has publicly concluded that Trump suffers from dementia.
Despite the concerns reflected in the poll, Trump’s job approval rating ticked upward slightly. The survey found his approval at 40%, up two points from 38% in previous Reuters/Ipsos polls conducted in mid-February and late January. His net approval rating — which measures approval minus disapproval — improved four points to -18%, compared with -22% and -21% in the earlier surveys.
Even so, longer-term trends show erosion in some areas. Since February of last year, Trump’s approval rating has slipped among White, Black, and Hispanic Americans, with the sharpest decline among Hispanic voters. His support within that group dropped from 36% to 29% over the past year.
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Economic perceptions, often central to presidential standing, have also softened. Trump’s approval rating on the economy fell from 41% to 36% during the same period. For a president who has frequently pointed to economic performance as a cornerstone of his leadership case, that dip could carry political consequences.
The numbers suggest a public wrestling with two ideas at once: dissatisfaction with the political establishment’s age and a continued partisan divide over Trump himself. While a majority now describes him as increasingly erratic, a sizable portion still sees him as capable and mentally fit.
In an election cycle where questions about stamina, judgment, and clarity loom large, perceptions — fair or not — may matter as much as policy. And as this latest poll indicates, those perceptions are shifting in ways that cut across party lines, even if they stop short of consensus.