{"id":168597,"date":"2024-05-23T10:55:41","date_gmt":"2024-05-23T14:55:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?post_type=short-read&#038;p=168597"},"modified":"2025-07-21T09:36:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T13:36:12","slug":"americans-have-mixed-views-about-how-the-news-media-cover-bidens-trumps-ages","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2024\/05\/23\/americans-have-mixed-views-about-how-the-news-media-cover-bidens-trumps-ages\/","title":{"rendered":"Americans have mixed views about how the news media cover Biden\u2019s, Trump\u2019s ages"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-640-wide\"><img data-dominant-color=\"454241\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #454241;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/05\/SR_24.05.23_candidate-age_feature.png?resize=480,270 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/05\/SR_24.05.23_candidate-age_feature.png?resize=782,440 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/05\/SR_24.05.23_candidate-age_feature.png?resize=960,540 960w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/05\/SR_24.05.23_candidate-age_feature.png?resize=1200,675 1200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/05\/SR_24.05.23_candidate-age_feature.png?resize=1280,720 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"360\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/05\/SR_24.05.23_candidate-age_feature.png?w=640\" alt=\"President Joe Biden in 2023 and then-President Donald Trump in 2021. (Jim Watson\/AFP and Brendan Smialowski\/AFP, both via Getty Images)\" class=\"wp-image-168601 not-transparent\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President Joe Biden in 2023 and then-President Donald Trump in 2021. (Jim Watson\/AFP and Brendan Smialowski\/AFP, both via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-default wp-block-paragraph\">At age 81, Joe Biden is already the <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2023\/10\/10\/most-us-presidents-have-been-in-their-50s-at-inauguration\/\">oldest president in American history<\/a>. But former President Donald Trump, who will turn 78 in June, will become the oldest person ever elected president \u2013 surpassing Biden \u2013 if he wins back the White House this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s no surprise, then, that the ages of the candidates have been a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/02\/10\/us\/politics\/biden-trump-aging.html\">major topic of conversation<\/a> in news coverage of the 2024 presidential election. A new Pew Research Center survey finds that Americans have mixed feelings about the way news organizations are handling the issue for each candidate, with views sharply divided by political party.<\/p>\n\n\n<div style=\"border-width:1px;padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);--block-gap: inherit\" class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible has-background has-ui-beige-very-light-background-color has-border-color has-ui-beige-dark-border-color\" id=\"how-we-did-this\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/collapsible&quot;}\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;collapsibleId&quot;:&quot;how-we-did-this&quot;,&quot;isOpen&quot;:false}\" data-wp-class--is-open=\"context.isOpen\" data-wp-init--scroll-into-view=\"callbacks.onInitScrollIntoView\"><div class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__title\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.onClick\"><div>How we did this<\/div><button class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__icon\"><span data-wp-bind--hidden=\"context.isOpen\"><i class=\"icon icon-library__light icon__circle-plus\"><svg style=\"width: 1em; height: 1em;\"><use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/plugins\/prc-icon-library\/build\/icons\/sprites\/light.svg#circle-plus\"><\/use><\/svg><\/i><\/span><span data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!context.isOpen\" hidden><i class=\"icon icon-library__light icon__circle-minus\"><svg style=\"width: 1em; height: 1em;\"><use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/plugins\/prc-icon-library\/build\/icons\/sprites\/light.svg#circle-minus\"><\/use><\/svg><\/i><\/span><\/button><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__content\">\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To examine Americans\u2019 perceptions of news coverage of the 2024 U.S. presidential candidates, Pew Research Center surveyed 8,709 U.S. adults from April 8 to April 14, 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Everyone who completed the survey is a member of the Center\u2019s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/our-methods\/u-s-surveys\/the-american-trends-panel\/\">ATP\u2019s methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here are&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/05\/SR_24.05.23_candidate-age_topline.pdf\">questions used for this analysis<\/a>, along with responses, and the survey&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2024\/04\/24\/biden-trump-methodology\/\">methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder. This is the latest analysis in Pew Research Center\u2019s ongoing investigation of the state of news, information and journalism in the digital age, a research program funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, with generous support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-640-wide is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=168602\"><img data-dominant-color=\"eae7e3\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/05\/SR_24.05.23_candidate-age_1.png?resize=480,343 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/05\/SR_24.05.23_candidate-age_1.png?resize=782,559 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/05\/SR_24.05.23_candidate-age_1.png?resize=840,600 840w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"457\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/05\/SR_24.05.23_candidate-age_1.png?w=640\" alt=\"A diverging bar chart showing that Americans have mixed views on the amount of media attention given to Biden\u2019s and Trump\u2019s ages.\" class=\"wp-image-168602 not-transparent\" style=\"--dominant-color: #eae7e3; width:420px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Overall, similar shares of U.S. adults believe news organizations are giving <em>too<\/em> <em>much<\/em> attention (32%) or <em>too<\/em> <em>little<\/em> attention (29%) to Biden\u2019s age. An additional 38% think the media cover Biden\u2019s age about the right amount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By comparison, Americans are less likely to say the news media are overemphasizing Trump\u2019s age (19%) and more likely to think that news organizations give it about the right amount of attention (49%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The same survey found that a larger share of American voters express <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2024\/04\/24\/in-tight-presidential-race-voters-are-broadly-critical-of-both-biden-and-trump\/\">confidence that Trump has the physical and mental fitness<\/a> needed to be president than say the same about Biden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Americans\u2019 opinions on news coverage are split along party lines. Each party\u2019s supporters tend to say that the opposing candidate\u2019s age is getting too little attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-640-wide is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=168603\"><img data-dominant-color=\"ebe9e9\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/05\/SR_24.05.23_candidate-age_2.png?resize=480,439 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/05\/SR_24.05.23_candidate-age_2.png?resize=782,715 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/05\/SR_24.05.23_candidate-age_2.png?resize=840,768 840w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"585\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/05\/SR_24.05.23_candidate-age_2.png?w=640\" alt=\"A diverging bar chart showing that many Republicans and Democrats think the opposing candidate\u2019s age gets too little attention in the media.\" class=\"wp-image-168603 not-transparent\" style=\"--dominant-color: #ebe9e9; width:420px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nearly half of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (46%) say news organizations are giving Trump\u2019s age too little attention, compared with just 14% of Republicans and GOP leaners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The numbers are virtually flipped when it comes to Biden: 48% of Republicans say Biden\u2019s age is getting too little attention, while only 12% of Democrats say the same.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-default wp-block-paragraph\">When it comes to coverage of their own party\u2019s candidate, patterns within each party differ. While 48% of Democrats say that Biden\u2019s age is getting too much attention, far fewer Republicans (23%) hold this view about Trump. Instead, most Republicans (63%) say Trump\u2019s age is getting about the right amount of attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Any differences between older and younger Americans are much smaller than the gaps between partisans. Among Americans ages 65 and older, for example, 34% say news organizations give Biden\u2019s age too little attention. That compares with 29% of those ages 50 to 64, 27% of those ages 30 to 49 and 26% of adults under 30.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Note: Here are the <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/05\/SR_24.05.23_candidate-age_topline.pdf\">questions used for this analysis<\/a>, along with responses, and the survey <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2024\/04\/24\/biden-trump-methodology\/\">methodology<\/a>.<\/em> <em>Senior Researcher Kirsten Eddy and Research Assistant Emily Tomasik contributed to this analysis.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Similar shares of U.S. adults believe news organizations are giving too much attention (32%) or too little attention (29%) to Biden\u2019s age.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":658,"featured_media":168601,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"sub_headline":"","sub_title":"","_crdt_document":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2024-05-26T17:23:11Z","apple_news_api_id":"aa4cce92-c5b1-452b-9679-2df6c090614d","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-07-21T13:36:37Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQ==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AqkzOksWxRSuWeS32wJBhTQ","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":["https:\/\/news-api.apple.com\/sections\/ac2c33a4-fc76-3d60-9a08-8b52227aecef"],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"relatedPosts":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0,"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"bylines":[{"key":"_hgnudnnab","termId":983},{"key":"_r6mjr2gof","termId":854}],"acknowledgements":[],"displayBylines":true,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[]},"categories":[68,426,383,88,336,340],"bylines":[983,854],"collection":[],"datasets":[2777],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[467],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[515],"research-teams":[527],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-168597","short-read","type-short-read","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-donald-trump","category-election-2024","category-joe-biden","category-leaders","category-news-coverage","category-presidents-press","bylines-katerina-eva-matsa","bylines-michael-lipka","datasets-american-trends-panel-wave-146","formats-short-read","regions-countries-united-states","research-teams-journalism"],"label":"Short 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