In a YouGov poll conducted between July 25-29, 59 percent of Republicans surveyed said they would prefer a president under the age of 75. Trump celebrated his 78th birthday in June. Forty percent said they had no preference, and just two percent said they would prefer a president over the age of 75.
You can bet that at least the last week of that was a matter of keeping up appearances. The transition went smoother than it had any right to, and that doesn’t happen without a lot of behind the scenes planning.