A new report said fears about President Joe Biden’s age are a behind-the-scenes issue in the White House.
“And as Mr. Biden insists he plans to run for a second term, his age has increasingly become an uncomfortable issue for him, his team and his party,” The New York Times wrote in a report that paints Biden as being engaged in some ways while showing the effects of his age in others.
Biden, who is 79, is older than former President Ronald Reagan when Reagan left office.
The report, which the Times said was culled from multiple interviews with sources that were not named, said those around him say Biden “looks older than just a few years ago.”
As President Biden insists he plans to run for a second term, his age has increasingly become an uncomfortable issue for him and his party. Polls show many Americans consider him too old, and some Democratic strategists do not think he should run again. https://t.co/OxncGGcbL4
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 9, 2022
The report said aides “quietly watch out for him.”
“He often shuffles when he walks, and aides worry he will trip on a wire. He stumbles over words during public events, and they hold their breath to see if he makes it to the end without a gaffe,” the report said, noting that Biden “stays out of public view at night.”
Is Joe Biden fit to be president?
“I do feel it’s inappropriate to seek that office after you’re 80 or in your 80s,” David Gergen, a former presidential adviser, said.
“I have just turned 80 and I have found over the last two or three years I think it would have been unwise for me to try to run any organization. You’re not quite as sharp as you once were,” he said.
Biden is so weak and too old. Critics thought Ronald Reagan was confused. Biden said Iranians instead of Ukrainians. Jeeze.
When will America wean itself off this gerontocracy? She deserves so much better.— Allison Pearson (@AllisonPearson) March 2, 2022
Some say the number of years a person has lived does not dictate competence.
“Right now, there’s no evidence that the age of Biden should matter one ounce,” S. Jay Olshansky, a longevity specialist at the University of Illinois Chicago, said. “If people don’t like his policies, they don’t like what he says, that’s fine, they can vote for someone else. But it’s got nothing to do with how old he is.”
But recognizing that Biden would be 86 by the time a second term ends, he said. “You can’t sugarcoat aging. Things go wrong as we get older, and the risks rise the older we get.”
The report noted that unscripted interactions with the media are limited.
“He often shuffles when he walks, and aides worry he will trip on a wire. He stumbles over words during public events, and they hold their breath to see if he makes it to the end without a gaffe.” https://t.co/6G54NkkdLr
— Ned Ryun (@nedryun) July 10, 2022
Biden has had 16 news conferences, far fewer than his predecessors, Martha Joynt Kumar, a scholar of presidential media strategy, said.
Although the Times report said Biden works a little over five days a week, the White House said he has zero days off.
“President Biden works every day and because chief executives can perform their duties from anywhere in the world, it has long been common for them to spend weekends away from the White House,” Andrew Bates, a deputy press secretary, said.
