Joe Biden turns 81 with his age being a major campaign issue.

 

Joe Biden. ABC News/AP.

Joe Biden will turn 81 tomorrow as his age is becoming a major campaign issue. ABC News. At 81, Biden is the oldest man to hold the office of president and would be 86 if he completed a 2nd term. His main opponent, Donald Trump, is 77, but has mostly avoided the scrutiny Biden gets for his age. Biden and his team claims that he is fine and that his age gives him "experience". Americans tend to not agree with him as 74% of Americans in a Washington Post/ABC News poll said he was too old while only 50% of Americans said the same was true for Trump. A CNN poll of Democrats in New Hampshire said 56% of Democrats said their biggest concern with Biden is his age. 

My Comment:

I know I have made this comment before but we sure are looking like Russia before the fall of the Soviet Union with geriatric leaders. It's not just Biden, but it was Mitch McConnell, Nancy Pelosi and the late Diane Feinstein as well. Trump's getting up there in years too and there really isn't a chance of us having a younger president in 2024 unless something happens to both men. 

Biden gets more scrutiny on this because he's obviously showing his age. Unlike Trump, who is still pretty spry and sharp, Biden is looking weak and worn out. Have you seen him walking lately? His gait is stilted and he does not move like a man that is going to last much longer. Trump's a man in his 70s that moves like he is 55 while Biden is 81 and moves like he is 106. 

And Biden's mind has certainly started to slip as well. He simply is not the man he used to be. He has declined since the start of his presidency, let alone from his days as Obama's VP or as a Senator. Even today he confused Taylor Swift for Britney Spears. To be fair, as an old man, I don't expect him to remember every pop star, but since it was a prepared joke referencing a recent concert issue with Swift, you would have thought he would have remembered. It just seems like he's getting more and more confused. 

The elephant in the room is that NOBODY wants Kamala Harris to be president. Harris is historically unpopular and I have always said that the one person on Earth that could do worse than Biden is Kamala Harris. People know this and aren't going to be willing to vote for Biden when his chances of making it through a 2nd term, with all the stress of being a president, are almost nil.

Incidentally this also applies to Trump. Though Trump is younger and in better health than Biden, he needs a good VP candidate to potentially take over. Before Mike Pence ruined his reputation on January 6th, he was a good reason for voting for Trump as he seemed like he would be a decent replacement. Trump needs someone younger and competent to potentially take over for him 

It does make me wonder  what exactly the Democrats plan is. It's pretty clear that Biden won't be able to handle the stress of an extended campaign and with polls starting to show Biden far behind in the polls, he can't just hide in his basement like he did in 2020. The margin of support for Trump is to the point where even voter fraud might not be enough to beat him, just like what happened in 2016. 

I have suspected for awhile that the Democrats have to have a backup plan and it's probably Gavin Newsome. I don't know if they will let Biden continue to campaign or if they will replace him during the convention. The problem with that is that Biden would have to consent to it and it seems to me that Biden is pretty desperate to hang onto power. No matter what the plan is, Biden is throwing a wrench into it.