The presidential debate Thursday, June 27 between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, the first of the 2024 general election, has set the entire country ablaze. It stirred much controversy for several reasons, but perhaps the most hot-button topic was Biden’s performance.
According to a June Gallup Poll, 76% of Americans believe Biden is too old to be president, versus 38% having the same concerns about Trump. This poll was taken before the debate. After Biden’s struggling debate performance, more Americans, including Democratic Party leaders, are growing concerned about the president’s mental fitness and ability to lead the nation.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Tex., recently voiced these concerns, becoming the first sitting Democrat in Congress to call for Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race. Other top Democratic Party voices, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have raised attention regarding Biden’s health. The topic is raising discussions around a host of other issues, such as having maximum age limits for elected officials. An October 2023 Pew Research Center survey reported that 79% of Americans favor maximum age limits for federal office holders, and 74% support such limits for Supreme Court justices.
These findings raises the question, “Are Americans just ageists, or is this issue related more to the physical and mental fitness of people over a certain age?”
This election is not the first time the age of a president has been a concern for the country. In 1984, when then-President Ronald Reagan and former Vice President Walter Mondale squared off, Reagan was 73 and set to become the oldest elected president. Reagan was met with challenges regarding his age but was able to use some quick wit to refute these concerns and went on to win a landslide victory against Mondale.
So, it’s not exactly a clear-cut matter. While some people have made claims that Biden and Trump are the oldest candidates ever to run for president, that is not quite true. It is correct to say they will be the two oldest presidential nominees representing a major political party, as there have been older third-party and independent candidates. It is also important to note that Trump is 78 years old, just a few years younger than Biden. However, Trump has shown what you could describe as a razor-sharp, in-your-face communication style, a trait that has perhaps made him appear more fit in the eyes of Americans.
Is it just a matter of age, then? Or is it the fitness of the individual? As Baby Boomers, who make up 20.93% of the U.S. population, continue to retire, more Americans are talking about aging and what its effects look like on a personal and professional level. Ageism continues to be a top concern for older American workers, as a 2022 AARP survey found more than one in five adults over 50 report having experienced age discrimination since turning 40. This figure further raises the question of what direction Americans want to take around the issues of aging, ageism and dealing with the negative effects aging can bring.
To share a personal anecdote, I can recall when my father, a retired combat veteran with nearly 23 years of military service, was having some serious health issues. He was about 62 then, and I was in my mid-20s. His health issues required him to be on some medication temporarily. The medication had side effects that made it unsafe for him to operate a motor vehicle. Of course, my dad was not happy about that, and understandably so. He had driven just about every kind of vehicle you can think of and was no stranger to handling serious challenges. So, for him to hand over his keys, even temporarily, was incredibly hard. We had a long conversation about it and what adjustments we as a family needed to make. He begrudgingly agreed to hand over his keys to us, and my mom and I would handle his transportation needs.
So, is there a time when we must recognize it is not so much about age itself as it is about legitimate safety and well-being concerns? Can our leaders and we as a nation discern whether someone is fit to lead regardless of age and when it is time for them to hand over the proverbial keys?
Perhaps this campaign season will answer these questions for us.
Featured image: Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash
Edited by: James Sutton & Steven London
