(New York) The United States Constitution sets 35 as the minimum age for election to the presidency of the country. But it does not establish a maximum age, which disturbs many Americans.
Posted at 8:00 p.m.
“I hope there is an age limit,” former President Jimmy Carter quipped in September 2019, answering a question about the presidential candidacies of Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, who were then respectively 76 and 78 years on the clock.
“If I was only 80 years old, if I was 15 years younger, I don’t think I could assume the functions that I knew when I was president,” added the nonagenarian in a more serious tone.
The majority of American voters — 58%, to be precise — believe that a maximum age should be imposed on all candidates, regardless of office, according to a YouGovAmerica poll published last January.
A month earlier, entrepreneur Elon Musk had proposed an age limit lower than 70, which would now prevent 30% of US senators from seeking new mandates.
The entire Democratic staff in the House of Representatives, which has three octogenarians – Nancy Pelosi (82), Steny Hoyer (83) and James Clyburn (81) – would also be forced into retirement.
Joe Biden, on November 20, will reach the age at which Jimmy Carter considers that he would no longer have been fit to assume the functions of the presidency. If he runs for president again in 2024, as he says he intends to do, and defeats his Republican opponent, he will be 82 on the day of his inauguration. But if you consider that there are few jobs that age as much as the American presidency, what will it look like in 2026 or 2028? And, more importantly, how will it work?
PHOTO KEVIN D LILES, THE NEW YORK TIMES ARCHIVES
Former President Jimmy Carter, in 2015, who is now 97 years old.
“Democratic whispers”
More and more Democrats are asking themselves these questions. the New York Times recently reported on this questioning in an article with a title that must have irritated the head of the White House: “Should Biden run in 2024? Democrat murmurs begin to rise, saying ‘no’.”
Even some of its defenders have told the Times words that must have seemed too candid in the eyes of Joe Biden.
“Presidency is a monstrously taxing job and the harsh reality is that the president would be closer to 90 than 80 at the end of a second term, and that would be a major problem,” said David Axelrod, strategist for the two Barack Obama’s successful presidential campaigns.
After explaining that Joe Biden was not getting due credit for his accomplishments, Axelrod added, “And part of the reason [de cette situation] is related to appearances. »
He looks his age and isn’t as nimble in front of a camera as he used to be, and this has fueled a narrative about his abilities that isn’t grounded in reality.
David Axelrod, strategist for Barack Obama’s two successful presidential campaigns
This narrative framework has long since left the limits of decency in certain conservative media. These portray Joe Biden as a senile old man who is told what to say and what to do, and who still wanders off reading his teleprompter. Some elected Republicans add a layer themselves, but others refuse to come down to their level. “In both meetings I had with the president, his mind was as sharp as a razor blade,” Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito from West Virginia said last March.
Nevertheless: the question of Joe Biden’s age would become unavoidable after the official announcement of his re-election campaign. The magazine The Atlantic gave a taste of that potential debate last month by publishing an article under Mark Leibovich’s byline that opened with this paragraph: “Let me tell you bluntly: Joe Biden should not run for re-election of 2024. He is too old. »
No ageism
For Quebec geriatrician David Lussier, such a debate would not necessarily fall under ageism.
“It is certain that at 82 [ou 86 ans à la fin de son mandat], the energy is less than for someone younger, ”he analyzed, referring to Joe Biden. “So he might have a hard time working long days. But it varies greatly from person to person. »
The Dr Lussier mentions another source of concern caused by old age. Certain cognitive functions, including those related to execution speed or the ability to do several things at the same time, decrease.
“For a job as demanding as that of President of the United States, that could be a problem. But again, it varies greatly from person to person. »
In other words, the reality of Joe Biden at 80 will not necessarily be that of Jimmy Carter, or that of Donald Trump, who will reach that age in 2026, at the White House or at Mar-a-Lago.