President Joe Biden’s age has become increasingly relevant.
Pundits and constituents alike have taken to asking: is Biden too old to run for reelection? I’ve written about Biden’s age many times. So have others. The headlines aren’t hard to find.
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The truth is, in my opinion, Joe Biden is too old to run for reelection; running Biden for reelection borders on the irresponsible.
But while everyone is buzzing over Biden’s age and whether he’s too old to run again, another geriatric candidate is flying under the radar: Donald Trump.
And like Biden, Donald Trump is too old for another term in the White House – only Trump’s age isn’t being raised as an issue. It should.
Is Donald Trump too old for the presidency?
Donald Trump was born nearly 77 years ago – on June 14, 1946. The US male life expectancy is 76.4 years. So, Trump has already lived longer than he would have statistically been expected to.
If Trump were elected to a second term, he would not enter office until he was 78 – and his term would last until he was 82.
A reasonable question: are we expecting Donald Trump to live through a second term?
As president, Trump would have access to the most punctual and perhaps highest quality healthcare worldwide. But like I said, he’s already exceeded the life expectancy.
As pressing as the prospect of dying in office, is the specter of cognitive decline. Much fuss has been made over Biden’s cognitive decline, but don’t kid yourself, Trump appears to be in decline, too.
Now, I should offer a disclaimer: I’m not exactly qualified to diagnose the mental acuity of individuals I have never met relative to the mental acuity they may have once possessed. I haven’t continuously monitored Trump or Biden’s neurological capacity for decades. I’ve never had a conversation with either Trump or Biden. I’ve never seen either speak in person. And even if I’d done any of those things, my opinion, as a juris doctorate, wouldn’t carry much professional weight.
But I do have some common sense. And I do know some people in their 70s and 80s. And like the rest of us, I have access to decades’ worth of Trump and Biden footage, thanks to both men having spent most of their lives in the public arena.
Based on my common sense, based on my interactions with people in their 70s and 80s, and based on viewing footage from Trump and Biden speaking and thinking over the decades – I feel comfortable in my assessment that both are past their BEST BY date.
Is Trump Slipping?
This article is about Trump, so let’s focus on Trump. In interviews from the 1980s and 1990s, Trump is clear-eyed and relatively articulate. He makes sense. He seems to be operating from the same plane of consciousness as the person conducting the interview. Questions are met with coherent, on-point responses. Even during The Apprentice years, Trump appears locked in.
That’s not really the case anymore, is it?
I’m not saying that Trump is no longer functional – but he’s not as clear-eyes or articulate as he used to be, which seems to suggest decline, right?
Trump likely avoids age-related criticism because Biden is a few years older and just so, so bad at speaking publicly. Biden is the personification of the sleepy grandpa, nodding off on the couch during family gatherings. Trump, meanwhile, is ranting and raving; his rambunctious energy offsets perceptions that he might be in decline.
Perhaps if Trump were more even-keeled or reasonable, pundits and constituents would be more focused on the fact that he just doesn’t appear as sharp as he used to be.
Well, for the moment, Biden is the only one under scrutiny for his age.
But both Joe Biden and Donald Trump are too old to serve a second term as president.
BONUS: The Fall of Joe Biden Has Started
BONUS: Donald Trump Looks At His End
BONUS: Kamala Harris Should Quit
Harrison Kass is the Senior Editor at 19FortyFive. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison lives in Oregon and listens to Dokken.
