About half of American Democrats say that President Joe Biden he should not seek re-election next year and that he is too old to run, in a worrying sign for the 80-year-old politician, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

The three-day poll that ended yesterday, a day before Biden formally announced his candidacy, showed the American public is not excited by the prospect of a rematch between Biden and Donald Trump, his predecessor who currently holds the lead. to receive the nomination of the Republican party, with about two-thirds of respondents overall not wishing to see either candidate again in 2024.

Within their own parties, 44% of registered Democrats polled said Biden should not seek a second term, compared with 34% of Republicans who said Trump should not run again. according to the national poll.

Since taking office in January 2021, Biden has faced high inflation and low approval ratings. Just 41% of those polled — including 74% of Democrats and 10% of Republicans — approve of his performance as president.

The challenge facing his re-election campaign is to generate excitement among Democrats to ensure they go to the polls in November 2024.

Biden is expected to face little opposition in the Democratic nomination process after he was seen helping the party perform better than expected in the 2022 midterm elections. Democrats lost control of the House of Representatives but retained a majority in the Senate.

Biden is the oldest occupant of the White House and will be 86 at the end of his second four-year term. 61% of registered Democrats in the poll said they are too old to work in government.

By comparison, only 35% of registered Republicans said Trump, 76, is too old.

Trump is the front-runner for the Republican nomination and was the choice of 50 percent of registered Republicans in the poll, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis, who has the support of 24 percent of the party even though he has not formally announced his candidacy.

In a hypothetical matchup between the two, Biden leads Trump 43% to 38% among registered voters, a lead for the Democrat that barely exceeds the poll’s margin of error of 4 percentage points for registered voters. Biden also leads among independent voters.

In another hypothetical matchup between the two, DeSandis is even further behind with 34% to Biden’s 43%.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll gathered responses from 1,005 US adults, including 445 who identify as Democrats and 361 as Republicans.