Most Americans don’t want either President Joe Biden or former President Donald Trump to make a White House run next year.
In fact, a newly released ABC News/Washington Post survey found that the majority of Americans don’t believe Biden has the physical or mental capacity to serve another term – and 63 percent of Americans said the now 80-year-old doesn’t have the “mental sharpness” it takes to serve effectively as president.
In addition, 62 percent said they do not believe that Joe Biden is in “good enough physical health” to serve either.
As Politico.com reported, Biden has repeatedly pushed back against criticism of his age “I feel good,” Biden said during a Rose Garden press conference last month. “And I feel excited about the prospects, and I think we’re on the verge of really turning the corner in a way we haven’t in a long time.”
However, it is voters who ultimately decide if Joe Biden is too old, and right now, Americans believe it is a concern.
Joe Biden: Truly Elder Statesmen
The term “elder statesman” was once used to define those retired politicians who would unofficially advise current leaders. Now it is those who refuse to retire.
Though it is true that some politicians including former President Barrack Obama and former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, retired relatively early from the political stage, there are increasingly a lot of older lawmakers who show no sign of leaving or any desire to pass the baton to the next generation.
In November 2021, former Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley attempted to call out this issue.
“Let’s face it, we’ve got a lot of people in leadership positions that are old,” Haley said. “That’s a fact … this shouldn’t be partisan. We should seriously be looking at the ages of the people that are running our country and understand if that’s what we want.”
At the time Haley made her remarks, the then-current U.S. Senate was the oldest in history with an average age of 64.3 years. That included California’s Dianne Feinstein, who was 88 at the time, the same age as Iowa’s Chuck Grassley. Six other senators were in their 80s while 23 more were in their 70s. The House of Representatives was little better, as then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was also 81.
Most of those elder lawmakers are still in office in 2023 and they’ve only all gotten older.
This fact was noted by Americans in a CBS News poll last September, with three in four Americans (73 percent) saying there should be some sort of maximum age limit placed on elected officials. Support for such age limits is actually something that most Americans agree upon. Seventy-one percent of Democrats surveyed said they’d support age limits, along with 75 percent of independents and 75 percent of Republicans.
In other words, Biden may say he feels good, but it is clear that most Americans aren’t sold on the idea of his taking the oath of office for a second term when he’s 82-years-old, and would be 86 at the end of that term.
Older Presidents Isn’t Unusual
As previously reported, many former presidents lived to a truly ripe old age – Harry Truman lived to the age of 88, John Adams was 90 when he passed away as was Herbert Hoover. Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford each lived to 93, while George H.W. Bush was 94 when he died. Jimmy Carter is still alive at age 97, the oldest of any former president.
It is true that Joe Biden could live as long as any of those men. But the issue is still whether he is up to the job. All of those men actually left office when they were in their 60s, except for Reagan who was 77 at the end of his second term.
Yet, Reagan’s mental decline likely began while he was in office, and he was still younger than Biden. It could be argued the job is even more taxing than it was just four decades ago – not that it was ever likely “easy.”
Joe Biden already likes to spend weekends at one of his homes in Delaware, goes to bed early, and has a very structured day. A question could be asked why he desires to remain in the White House, other than it is a matter of ego. Clearly, Biden should know that passing the baton to a younger generation would be best for his party and arguably for the country.
Yet, like all too many grandfathers, Joe Biden simply believes he knows best and nothing is going to change his mind. However, in this case, the voters will have the final say.
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Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
