On June 14, Donald Trump will turn 78 years old. Joe Biden turned 81 in November. Whether the candidates like it or not, age, mental acuity, and physical health are becoming increasingly important factors in presidential elections.
Either of the leading 2024 candidates would be the oldest occupant of the Oval Office ever by the end of his term, and neither seems eager to address the issue head-on. The conversation around age and fitness for office has become more prominent in recent years, with concerns about cognitive decline and health impacting public perception of political leaders.
When I interviewed Ronald Reagan about his health in 1980, he was 69 and poised to become the oldest person to be elected president. The same concerns that were raised then are surfacing once again in discussions about Trump and Biden's abilities to lead the country effectively.
Donald Trump is an old man. He's 77 years old. When Trump was born, Harry S. Truman was president and Perry Como topped the year's pop charts. Despite his age, Trump remains a polarizing figure in American politics, with a dedicated base of supporters who believe in his ability to lead.
To hear Donald Trump tell it, President Joe Biden is so senile that he doesn't know where he's speaking. The rhetoric around age and mental acuity has become a central theme in the ongoing political discourse, with both sides using it to their advantage in shaping public opinion.
Biden is 81. Trump is 77. But to many voters, the difference between their ages seems much bigger. The age issue is guiding election discussions, with concerns about the long-term impact of having elderly leaders at the helm of the country.
Whether Joe Biden or Donald Trump wins, elderly people will suffer collateral damage as talk of their occasional stumbles reinforces unfair stereotypes about aging. The ageism present in political conversations can have a detrimental effect on how older individuals are perceived and treated in society at large.
In a hypothetical 2024 general election presidential matchup, President Joe Biden holds a small lead over former President Donald Trump with. Age should not preclude Joe Biden or Donald Trump from serving another four years as president, a group of aging experts said Thursday at a conference on political leadership and gerontology.
