Of the many obstacles he has to hurdle to win another term in the White House, President Biden’s age is the highest to surmount. That challenge was given fresh currency in a recent USA Today/Suffolk University poll of Democrats and independents, with 37% saying that age made them less likely to vote for him. Yet another poll, from the Economist-YouGov, found that 45% of independents cite Biden’s health as “severely limiting his ability to do the job.”
More devastating is a recent NBC News poll where 68% of voters said they were concerned about Biden’s health; 55% of them said they were “seriously concerned” about his health.
At 80, with a birthday in November, Biden is the most senior person to lead the nation. He would be 86 at the end of a successful second term. Even so, Trump is not a spring chicken, checking in at 77—the same age Ronald Reagan was at the end of his second term in office.
“The president’s age is certainly going to be a headwind on his reelection campaign,” said C. Stewart Verdery Jr., who served in the administration of former President George W. Bush. “The polling says so, and the examples will certainly keep coming as he is in the public eye.”
To the president, his age is nothing but a number and something he often jokes about. “I know I look like I’m only 29,” Biden said at a recent event, drawing laughter from the crowd. “But I’ve been around a long time.” At a campaign fundraiser in California, he said. “A lot of you have been helping me for a long, long time.”
In a more official manner, the White House pushed back on the president’s age and health. “The president—shoot, he traveled yesterday, he’s traveling again today. You saw how extensively he traveled during the midterms. And especially his foreign travels—this is someone who is incredibly active as president,” said press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre last Thursday.
As we all know, the polls are not the best indicator of a candidate’s standing or potential, and they are certainly not medical experts when it comes to Biden’s health.