Democrats Questioning Biden and the Age Challenge: President Joe Biden, 80, has been a fixture in the Democratic Party for half a century, but now some senior Democrats are questioning his age and competency.
Until now, Democrats have largely defended the president’s advanced age. Joe Biden would be 86 years old when he would finish a second term, almost a decade older than Ronald Reagan was when he left office in 1989.
“They attacked him over age before he beat them in 2020. They attacked him over age as he built the best legislative record in modern history,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates told CNN a few months back. “They did the same before he beat them 2022. I’m not sure what they think they’re accomplishing. The trend is not good for them. Maybe they forgot?”
Former Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, 77, similarly recently defended Biden from age-related attacks.
“If you look at Biden, he’s too busy to die,” Maloney told NBC News back in March.
Democrats and the media constantly made Reagan’s age an issue back then just as the conservative media does with Biden. The president’s frequent challenges with what many times looks like confusion and disorientation have become a constant focus on Fox News and in other conservative media that have accused him of cognitive decline.
Joe Biden: Don’t Run?
Polling has shown that many rank-and-file Democrats don’t want him to run. In one recent poll, only 37% of Democrats want Biden to seek a second term.
“I, honestly, think that he would be too old,” Sarah Overman, 37, a Democrat who works in education in Raleigh, North Carolina told the Associated Press. “We could use someone younger in the office.”
Politico reported in February that many senior Democrats say the same thing behind closed doors.
What’s different this time is that Democrats such as economist Robert B. Reich, 76, who served as Bill Clinton’s Labor secretary, are suggesting he needs to go if Republicans nominate a younger candidate like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“If it’s Trump, Biden can do it. He’s already beaten him once, and Trump is no spring chicken. If Republicans put up a younger candidate, the age issue will be a major problem for Biden,” Fox News quoted Reich as having said. “I can tell you from experience and observation that the job of the American presidency is physically and mentally grueling even for people in their 40s. If reelected, Biden would be 86 at the end of his second term (assuming he made it to the end). That’s deeply worrying.”
Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton similarly questioned Biden’s abilities past age 80.
“My stomach clenches at the prospect of a venerable president becoming incapable of strong leadership for all the dangers of aging past 80, at the inevitable wince-worthy moments that may accrue to the point of putting our nation at risk,” Lawton said.
Not Progressive Enough?
Biden received criticism from the Left-wing of his party for being insufficiently Progressive.
“No, Biden should not run again. Working people are suffering from a historic cost-of-living crisis as Democrats fail to deliver. From dropping the $15 minimum wage to abandoning his health care ‘public option,’ Biden has based himself entirely on what is acceptable to big business,” Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant said.
What is clear, however, is that Democrats are confident of Biden beating Trump in a rematch because he did before, but they are uncomfortable with his age and potential decline in mental and physical abilities in his 80s.
John Rossomando’s work has been featured in numerous publications such as The American Thinker, Daily Wire, Red Alert Politics, CNSNews.com, The Daily Caller, Human Events, Newsmax, The American Spectator, TownHall.com, and Crisis Magazine. He also served as senior managing editor of The Bulletin, a 100,000-circulation daily newspaper in Philadelphia, and received the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors first-place award in 2008 for his reporting.
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