Democrats defend Biden’s age as ‘wisdom’ as he prepares to get back on stage
Democrats are defending Joe Biden’s age as “wisdom” after questions were raised again about his ability to serve a second term following his fall from the Air Force Academy.
The defense comes as the president prepares to return to the public stage with several events at the White House this week and the campaign trail in North Carolina on Friday.
“Joe Biden rightly says that he has become very wise in his many decades in public office and I respect that,” Maryland Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin told CNN’s State of the Union Sunday.
Raskin also noted that ‘America is a country that loves youth and vitality, you know, that’s why we have laws against ageism, because we tend to prefer youthfulness and the new. In many countries people who have been in office longer are praised for their wisdom.’
Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland defended Biden’s age as ‘wisdom’
And Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 69, who is challenging Biden for the Democratic nomination, said age is not a factor as long as the person remains mentally sharp.
“I don’t think age is the most important yardstick. I think the measure is your physical health and your mental acuity,” he told Fox News late last week. ‘I think there are people in their 80s who look younger than me. I don’t think the actual chronic age is the limiting factor, but the mental acuity.’
At age 80, Biden is the oldest person ever elected president in US history. And he raised questions about his ability to serve when he tripped on a sandbag and fell during a speech at the Air Force Academy last week.
He laughed it off and said, “I got into a sandbag.”
But the incident quickly went viral and showed Biden’s vulnerability to the age issue.
And the topic probably won’t go away any time soon.
Biden is running for a second term and will be on the campaign trail in a way he wasn’t during the 2020 campaign, when most of his events were virtual due to the COVID pandemic.
This time around, he’ll be on public display – and under more surveillance – in a number of events and settings, meaning it could be a matter of time before another trip or fall occurs.
On Friday, Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to North Carolina — a key state in the presidential election — to discuss employee training programs.
To that end, the president has several events at the White House this week, including meetings with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Monday and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 69, challenging Biden for the Democratic nomination, said it’s not about a person’s age, it’s about their mental fitness
President Biden, 80, renewed questions about his age last week when he fell on stage at the Air Force Academy graduation ceremony
President Biden will also return to the fundraising circuit soon and will come under scrutiny from donors who give millions to the Democratic Party.
At a fundraiser in California a few months ago, Biden bungled a story he told about a news report he watched on CNN on the flight there, making verbal blunders in front of people who had donated a million dollars to get there. to be.
David Axelrod, a former senior adviser to President Barack Obama, said the age questions were inevitable and the president would be closely watched.
“I think Biden has a very credible track record. The way they went through the debt ceiling negotiations shows the value of experience,” he said Politics. “His argument about wisdom is a real argument.”
But he added: “This is an obligation that comes with age. Incidents like this will blow up. They will be more of a concern than it would be if he were twenty years younger. This is a burden he will have to overcome. This will be a permanent challenge.’
Biden’s Democratic rivals for the 2024 nomination didn’t take advantage of last week’s fall to strike, but they were also careful with their words.
When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. when asked about Biden’s mental acuity, he replied to Fox News, “I don’t know. That’s for other people to figure out.’
And Marianne Williamson, who is also running for the Democratic presidential nomination, is silent on the matter.
“No comment,” her campaign staff told DailyMail.com when asked about Biden’s eligibility to serve.
Falls are the leading cause of injuries and injury-related deaths among Americans over 65, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
And the image of Biden sprawled on the podium — then aided by Air Force officials — renewed the talk that had already been going on about his stamina.
Biden has dismissed questions about his age, especially as he campaigns for a second term in the White House.
His doctor has stated that he is healthy and fit to serve, but has admitted that the president’s gait is “stiff.” Biden has stumbled before — twice aboard Air Force One: in March 2023 and in March 2021.
He also tripped while descending a flight of stairs at an event at the G7 summit in Japan and left a dinner of world leaders early.
The president has downplayed questions about his age, telling reporters in April, “I can’t even say the number, it won’t register with me.”
President Joe Biden is helped up after a fall
However, Americans are concerned, polls show.
In an ABC News/Washington Post poll last month, 68% of Americans said Biden is too old for another term as president.
And the New York Times took a deep dive into Biden’s vulnerabilities as an octogenarian, reporting that the president has slowed down with age but remains sharp.
“I think the reason this is a problem is mainly because the media talks about it all the time,” former Senator Ted Kaufman, a longtime Biden confidant, told the newspaper. “I don’t see anything in my dealings with him that age is an issue. He’s done more than any president in my life could do.’
But the paper also noted that the president’s age is a constant topic of conversation in Democratic circles.
A prominent Wall Street Democrat told the Times it was all about party donors.