As the US President Joe Biden celebrates his 81st birthday on Monday, he knows that his age is both an advantage and a disadvantage in the upcoming 2024 presidential election. During a speech to workers in the automotive industry, he joked about concerns about his physical fitness and mental sharpness. However, when someone fell during his speech, he quickly asked if everything was okay and then added that it wasn’t him who caused it.
Democrat Biden is already the oldest president in American history, and if he wins a second term, he will be 86 years old when he leaves office. According to his last systematic examination in February, Biden is in good health, but voting for him means betting that it will be like this until the end of the possible second mandate. However, polls show that such a bet does not excite Americans. A recent survey conducted by the Siena Institute and published by The New York Times revealed that 71 percent of voters believe that Biden is too old to be president. Only 39 percent think the same about former president Donald Trump, who at 77 is also not a “chicken.”
Recently, there has been increasing concern about Trump’s mental abilities as he prepares for the nomination of his party. David Axelrod, a former chief strategist for Democrats after seeing the results of this survey called on Biden to question whether he was running for personal or national interest. Stuart Jay Olshansky, who studies longevity at the University of Illinois argues that aging is not what it used to be and people should focus on what they can do rather than their age.
Before the 2020 election, Joe Biden cut back on travel due to Covid-19 pandemic but this time as he takes on increasing responsibilities of presidency he will have to travel across America. Although his doctor describes him as “strong,” there is no doubt that Biden’s appearance corresponds to his age. His gait is very stiff; his voice is often weak and difficult to hear; and his speech slurred. He now enters Air Force One via a shorter staircase instead of larger stairs which allow him to pose near top as posing on unstable stairs may make him appear older than he actually feels.
Biden often jokes about being old but also claims that his age gives him wisdom in matters of American political life and turmoil around world . For genetic reasons ,Biden and Trump are likely so called “superseniors” term researchers use describe people who remain fit at very late age . Olshansky claims to have discovered that for American presidents biological time passes more slowly than rest population .