Joe Biden has admitted that he could “drop dead tomorrow” and conceded that it is “legitimate” for voters to be concerned about his health.
Interviewed by MSNBC just two weeks ahead of the midterm elections, the US president was quizzed about his mortality and said: “I could get a disease, I could drop dead tomorrow. I think it’s a legitimate thing to be concerned about, anyone’s age, including mine.”
However, he added, that “the best way to make a judgment” is for voters to “watch” him and decide for themselves if he is “slowing up”.
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Biden, who will be 80 on 20 November, is expected to run for the White House again in 2024, said The Telegraph, and “the oldest person ever to hold office” would be 86 if he completed a second term.
‘He outlasts us’
Biden’s age is a red herring, said Brendan Boyle, a Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania. “The age thing is a convenient place to go for people who had other reasons to say they didn’t want him to run,” Boyle told CNN.
Speaking in the Capitol, where the three most important members of the Democratic leadership are all in their 80s, Boyle said: “I serve in Congress. To me, Joe Biden is young.”
While engaging with crowds, the 79-year-old has “perfected his selfie arm” and tested his aides’ stamina, reported The Independent. “He outlasts us,” said White House deputy chief of staff Jen O’Malley Dillon. Biden is known to spend more than an hour shaking hands and chatting with the public.
“If I was advising Biden, I would say don’t hide it,” conservative consultant Craig Shirley told Politico. “Everybody knows you’re going to be 80 years old, make it a positive. He can have a cake. Have some friends over. To run away from it is foolish.”
Age old problem
However, according to one report, people behind the scenes are increasingly concerned about the president’s age. White House staffers have expressed doubts about scheduling long international trips for Biden, “out of concern that they are too draining for him”, reported The New York Times.
“His energy level, while impressive for a man of his age, is not what it was, and some aides quietly watch out for him,” said the paper. Biden “often shuffles when he walks, and aides worry he will trip on a wire”, it added.
Biden’s age could become an issue at the polls, according to one study. A New York Times/Siena College poll published in July found that around 64% of surveyed Democratic voters believed the party should nominate a different candidate for president in 2024, with 33% giving Biden’s age as their primary reason.
It could become a problem for Biden. Former president Donald Trump, who was defeated by Biden in 2020 but is “mulling” over running again in 2024, “frequently criticizes Biden over his performance and his age”, said USA Today.
However, the former president is no spring chicken himself at 76, opening up the prospect of two elderly men running for what is often referred to as the most powerful office in the world.
