Trump throws Biden a lifeline on the age problem
Byron York
TRUMP THROWS BIDEN A LIFELINE ON THE AGE PROBLEM. What is President Joe Biden’s biggest liability as he runs for reelection? Republicans could give you a lot of answers, but the most important is the president’s age. He’s 80 now and would be 82 upon beginning a second term and 86 at the end of it. He looks and sounds every minute of his age. Having such an elderly chief executive is unprecedented in American history.
Most people think Biden is too old to continue. Look at an Associated Press survey that received a lot of attention in August. “In the poll, fully 77% said Biden is too old to be effective for four more years,” the Associated Press reported. “Not only do 89% of Republicans say that, so do 69% of Democrats. That view is held across age groups, not just by young people.”
But what about Biden’s likely opponent, former President Donald Trump, who is 77 now and would be 78 upon beginning a second term and 82 at the end of it? This is what the Associated Press poll said about that: “Only a few years [Biden’s] junior, Donald Trump raises strikingly less concern about his age.” Still, many voters think Trump is too old, too. Fifty-one percent of those surveyed said Trump is too old to be effective for four more years. That’s a lot less than think Biden is too old, but it’s still a majority of voters.
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So if Biden and Trump were to face each other in the general election, would the two age problems just cancel out? Maybe. But the fact is, more people are worried about Biden’s age than are worried about Trump’s age. In other words, the age problem might actually benefit Trump, even though he is nearly as old as Biden. This makes it interesting that in a new interview, Trump argued that Biden’s age is not a problem. “He’s not too old, he’s incompetent,” Trump told journalist Megyn Kelly. “No, he’s not too old at all. He’s grossly incompetent.” Trump supported that by noting that “if you go back 25 years, [Biden] wasn’t the sharpest tack, either.”
By maintaining that Biden is not too old for the job, Trump has set himself against the 77% of voters, and 89% of Republicans, who believe Biden is too old. Why do that? One obvious reason is that Trump is setting up a defense that he, Trump, is also not too old for another four-year term. He would take the age problem off the table against Biden if it also means taking the age problem off the table against himself.
But the people see what they see. They see that Biden has slowed down considerably, that he sometimes becomes confused and loses his train of thought, that he sounds weak, that his walk is beginning to resemble a shuffle. They see that. They also see that Trump is more vigorous than Biden. On the other hand, they don’t know what Trump will be like by the time he reaches 82.
Last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who was Trump’s chief Republican rival until his fall back toward the pack in recent months, flatly declared, “The presidency is not a job for someone that’s 80 years old.” Voters’ worries about both Biden and Trump are “absolutely a legitimate concern,” DeSantis, who is 45, told CBS News. “There’s nothing wrong with being 80,” he continued. “Obviously, I’m the governor [of] Florida. I know a lot of people who are elderly. They’re great people. But you’re talking about a job where you need to give it 100%. We need an energetic president.”
Trump’s talk with Kelly came after the Associated Press poll and after DeSantis’s comments, so it’s probably best to read his remarks as a response to both. With that in mind, here is the entire exchange between Trump and Kelly on the question of age:
KELLY: There was just a poll out — 77% of Americans say that Joe Biden at age 80 is too old to be president. Are they right?
TRUMP: No. Not for the reason of old because I have many friends that are in their 80s — I have friends, Bernie Marcus, that are in their 90s, and they’re sharp as a tack, I would say, just about what they used to be. No, not old. He’s incompetent. He’s not too old, he’s incompetent. And age is interesting because some people are very sharp and some people do lose it, but you lose it at 40 and 50 also. But no, he’s not too old at all. He’s grossly incompetent. You look at some of the great world leaders. They were in their 80s, and they did — I mean Churchill, so many people, they were phenomenal in their 80s. You know, there’s a great wisdom if you’re not in a position like [Biden]. But if you go back 25 years, he wasn’t the sharpest tack, either.
KELLY: Ron DeSantis has come out to say that 80-year-olds shouldn’t be president, that if you’re the nominee, the GOP will lose age as a cudgel to use against Joe Biden. Does he have a fair point?
TRUMP: Well, if he’s the nominee, they’ll lose because he’s a lousy candidate. So, you know, I’d rather take on the age issue. I feel I’m physically extremely good. I feel the same way I did 40 years ago. I feel as good as I’ve ever felt. Athletically, I’m just about as good as I ever was. I do certain things. I play golf. I win club championships, and I beat people that are 25 years younger than me. I hit the ball just as far as I ever did — I actually think I hit it a little bit further — at this club, it’s a big club with a lot of good members, a lot of good players.
KELLY: You must have good genes, Mr. President, because you eat McDonald’s, I know you love chocolate, you love the Diet Coke. How are you doing that? How?
TRUMP: Well, it’s really a parental thing much more so than — I believe in the racehorse theory. Fast horses produce fast horses, you know? I mean, it’s a little bit about your parents. My parents were very good. They lived to an old age. My father was, he lived old, he lived into his 90s, well into his 90s, and my mother lived quite a life.
So there it is. According to the leader of the Republican presidential race, Biden is not too old to be president. He’s just incompetent. And Trump does not have an age problem because he has good genes. Trump is arguing that in a Biden vs. Trump 2024 rematch, neither candidate will have an age problem — something that majorities of voters simply do not believe.
One more thing. Trump has also given his most passionate defenders permission to argue that Biden is not too old to be president. After I tweeted about this, many Trump supporters responded by mentioning a parent or an uncle or a friend who is in his or her late 80s, or even 90s, and is totally sharp. So it’s not age! They spoke as if there is no relationship between cognitive decline and advanced old age.
On the other hand, unlike Trump, many did say that Biden is infirm and unable to do the job of president. But that is only because of senility or dementia or whatever, which they believe has absolutely nothing to do with age.
It’s an altogether odd argument to be having. Look at it this way. The presidency is a four-year term. In picking a candidate, voters are betting that the candidate will be up to the job not just today but four years from now. In most cases, although not with Biden, that turns out to be true. Now, if there is a Biden-Trump choice in 2024, voters will be deciding which man will be most up to the job at age 86 or 82.
Here’s the bottom line. Take any retired executives, anyone who ran a big corporation or a big organization of some sort, and ask them if they would be ready to begin the most mentally and physically demanding job of their life, a 24/7/365 responsibility that goes for four years — ask them if they would be ready to start that job at age 80. They will very likely say no, if they don’t laugh at you.
“The presidency is not a job for someone that’s 80 years old,” DeSantis said. He’s right.
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