At his 2025 inauguration, Donald Trump set the record as the oldest person to start a term as president — five months older than Joe Biden was at his 2021 inauguration. That means that Trump would be the oldest president ever at the end of his term in January 2029. Some Americans express concerns that his age and health will impair his presidency.
Between August 26 and September 2, rumors spread online that Trump was ill. Because of bruises on Trump's hand and his lack of a public appearance in a week, some speculated that Trump was not healthy and that the White House was attempting to keep it a secret. Trump commented on the rumors on September 2.
The Trump administration has released details from a physical exam in April 2024, though some have questioned whether the report contained relevant information. Trump has also touted his results on a cognitive test, though some experts point out that the test results are not necessarily definitive.
Before the 2024 election, YouGov polling showed that concerns about Trump's age and health had grown during the campaign. A new YouGov survey finds that these concerns have continued to rise since the start of Trump's second term. Most Americans say that Trump's health and age are affecting his ability to govern, and many believe he is experiencing a cognitive and physical decline. Majorities say that they do not trust information from the White House about Trump's health and that it is fair for the media to question elected officials' health. Many Americans also question Vice President JD Vance's ability to govern if Trump were to become incapacitated.
The belief that Trump is too old to be president continues to grow
YouGov polling in October 2024 found that the share of Americans who said that Trump was too old to be president during the 2024 campaign. While that share decreased a bit after the election, it has now reached a new high. Today, Americans are more likely to say that Trump is too old to be president than to say he is not too old (49% vs. 39%).
Beliefs about Trump's age are highly polarized. The overwhelming majority (80%) of Democrats say that Trump is too old to be president. A majority (53%) of Independents say the same, compared to only 30% who say he is not too old. But Republicans overwhelmingly say he is not too old (78%), while only 13% say he is too old.
While Americans' beliefs about Trump's age are highly polarized by political party, attitudes are less differentiated by age. Overall, younger Americans are more likely to say Trump is too old to be president and older Americans are more likely to say he is not too old. But this is highly dependent on partisanship. Democrats 65 and older are more likely than any other age group among Democrats — or any age group within Independents or Republicans — to say that Trump is too old to be president.
Most Americans think Trump's health and age are affecting his ability to perform his duties as president
YouGov polling before the 2024 election found that a majority of Americans believed Trump's age and health would affect his ability to perform his duties if he were elected president. Since the start of his second term, those concerns have increased. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of Americans now say that Trump's health and age affect his ability to perform his job; before the election, 56% thought there would be an effect.
Majorities of Democrats (88%) and Independents (68%) say Trump's health and age affect his ability to fulfill the duties of his presidency. In contrast, only 34% of Republicans say this; 59% of Republicans say Trump's health and age have no effect on his presidency. Despite partisan differences, the belief that Trump's health and age affect his ability to perform his duties is now higher among all three groups — Democrats, Independents, and Republicans — than it was before the 2024 election.
Many Americans say Trump is experiencing a cognitive or physical decline
As concerns about Trump's health and age have grown, so has the belief that Trump is suffering from a cognitive decline. Before the 2024 election, Americans were evenly split between those who said Trump was suffering modest or significant cognitive decline and those who said he was not suffering any cognitive decline (40% vs. 40%). Now, Americans are more likely to say he is suffering a cognitive decline and less likely to say he is not (49% vs. 33%).
Independents' attitudes have seen the greatest change. The share of Independents saying Trump is suffering a cognitive decline has increased to 51% from 34% in October 2024. The share saying he is not experiencing any cognitive decline has fallen to 22% from 37%. Democrats and Republicans also are now more likely to think Trump is experiencing a cognitive decline than they were before the election, though these changes are smaller than among Independents.
The belief that Trump is experiencing a physical decline is even more widespread: 59% of Americans think Trump is suffering a modest or significant physical decline, while only 25% think he is not experiencing any physical decline.
Most Democrats (84%) and Independents (65%) think Trump is experiencing a physical decline. Only 5% of Democrats and 13% of Independents say he is not. On the other hand, Republicans are much more likely to say Trump is not experiencing any physical decline than to say he is (59% vs. 28%).
Most Americans don't think they're getting the full story about Trump's health
Before the 2024 election, Americans were more likely to say that Trump was not providing the public with enough information about his health than to say he was providing enough information. Since he took office, evaluations of his transparency have become more negative. The share of Americans who say Trump is not providing enough information has increased to 51% from 44%. In contrast, the share who say he is providing enough information has barely changed (to 31% from 30%).
The shares of Democrats and Independents who say Trump is not providing enough information have grown. Today, majorities of both groups say he is not providing enough information (85% of Democrats and 55% of independents). In contrast, Republicans have become more likely to rate Trump as sufficiently transparent: today, two-thirds (67%) say he is sharing enough information, compared to 57% a year ago.
While many Americans say that Trump is not providing enough information about his health, a large share are also concerned about the accuracy of the information he does share. A majority (56%) of Americans say they trust information from the White House about Trump's health "only a little" or "not at all." Only 20% say they have a great deal of trust in official information.
Democrats have the least trust in official information about Trump's health. 68% of Democrats say they don't trust it at all, and a further 19% say they only have some trust; only 7% say they have some or a great deal of trust. A majority of Independents are also skeptical of official information about Trump's health: 60% trust it only a little or not at all, while only 13% trust it a great deal. In contrast, Republicans are more likely to trust than distrust White House communications about Trump's health: 44% have a great deal of trust, while only 19% trust the White House only a little or not at all.
Many Americans go further and say that there has been a cover-up of the current state of Trump's health. We polled Americans after Trump held a press conference on September 2. Despite this, more Americans say that there has been a cover-up of Trump's health than say that there hasn't been one (46% vs. 39%). Three-quarters (75%) of Democrats and half (51%) of Independents say that there has been a cover-up, while three-quarters (75%) of Republicans reject the idea.
About three-quarters (77%) of Americans say it's fair for the media to question an elected official's physical health. Only 10% say it is unfair. Majorities of Democrats (83%), Independents (77%), and Republicans (72%) say such questions are fair.
However, previous YouGov polling has found that there are frequent flips in partisan divides over whether it's fair to question politicians' health. During the 2024 election, when Trump was running against a much younger opponent in Kamala Harris, more Democrats than Republicans said it was fair to question candidates' health. In contrast, during the 2016 election — when concerns were spreading about Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's health — Republicans were much more likely than Democrats to say such questions were fair. Therefore, the partisan split on this question may be unique to Trump's current context. We may see the opposite pattern if there are greater concerns about a Democrat's health in the future.
One-third of Americans think Vance is qualified to take over as president
Vice President JD Vance would take over presidential duties if Trump ever becomes unable to serve as president. Only 35% of Americans think Vance is qualified to serve as president if it becomes necessary; 46% say he is not qualified.
While about three-quarters (73%) of Republicans say Vance is qualified to be president, Democrats and Independents are largely unconvinced. Members of both groups are much more likely to say Vance is not qualified than to say he is qualified (79% vs. 7% among Democrats and 47% vs. 26% among Independents).
— Taylor Orth and Carl Bialik contributed to this article
See the results for this YouGov survey
Related articles and surveys:
- Americans are increasingly concerned about Donald Trump’s age and fitness for office
- Do you think Donald Trump has or has not provided enough information about his physical health?
- Do you think it’s fair or unfair for the media to question a political candidate’s physical health?
- What do Republicans think of J.D. Vance?
- Half of Americans believe Biden's age makes it more difficult to do the work the presidency requires
- Americans’ concern about Biden’s age is high, but unchanged after special counsel report
Methodology:
September 2025 poll: This YouGov poll was conducted online on September 2 - 4, 2025 among 1,177 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of adult U.S. citizens. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. 2024 presidential vote, at time of weighting, was estimated to be 48% Harris and 50% Trump. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given around November 8, 2024, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (31% Democratic, 32% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4%.
February 21, 2024 - June 23, 2025 polls: These YouGov polls were conducted online among U.S. adults. Surveys were fielded every four weeks between February 21, 2024 and January 28, 2025 for the SAY24 project for Stanford, Arizona State, and Yale Universities. Between 4,730 and 6,813 respondents completed each survey. 94,103 adults completed a larger SAY24 survey between April 28, 2025 and June 23, 2025. Each sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, and education based on the U.S. Census American Community Survey, and the U.S. Census Current Population Survey, as well as 2020 Presidential vote and partisan identification. The margin of error for the overall sample of each survey ranges between approximately 0.5% and 2.5%.
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