The age of the Democratic president is one of the recurring topics of the primaries. But it will not necessarily be decisive in the event of a face-to-face with Donald Trump in November.
Is Joe Biden too old for a second term as president of the United States? This is what is implied in a video shared by Donald Trump on his social network on January 13. “HAS the White House senior residence, all residents feel like presidents”mocks the parody spot. The 81 years of Joe Biden, who is participating in the Democratic Party primaries in South Carolina on Saturday February 3, are a recurring subject in the presidential campaign. The Democrat, almost assured of winning his party’s nomination, was already the oldest president to take the oath of office at his inauguration in January 2021. A new term would lead him to stay in the White House until he is 86 years old.
Donald Trump is not the only one to attack him on this point. “If you vote for Joe Biden, you are actually counting on [sa vice-présidente] Kamala Harris, because he’s unlikely to last until 86″assured Nikki Haley, the billionaire’s last rival in the Republican Party primaries, in April, quoted by NBC News.
“Joe Biden has days with and days without”
The Americans also doubt the capacity of the outgoing president to serve again for four years. Nearly three in four voters consider he is too old to run again, according to The Washington Post. “Lage is linked to cognitive faculties and more broadly to SKILLS. He is accused of no longer being able to ‘do the job'”summarizes the historian Lauric Henneton, lecturer at the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin.
“Joe Biden is beyond the average life expectancy of American men. His age seems to contradict the idea of a young country, of pioneers, even if this image of the United States is partly a myth. “
Lauric Henneton, historian specializing in the United Statesat franceinfo
For the Democrat’s team, this concern is largely fueled by the media. His falls on a bike or on stage, in 2022 and 2023, were thus dissected by the press. The slightest blunder or confusion during one of his speeches is also scrutinized, in a president known for having multiplied the “blunders” since the start of his political career fifty years ago.
In recent months, American media have also looked for signs that the campaign has been tailored to the needs of the octogenarian. To prevent him from confusing Iraq with Ukraine again, his team is preparing notes for his speeches and the size of the text on his teleprompter has been increased, reports NBC News. Joe Biden also works on his balance with a physiotherapist and wears sneakers more often to limit the risk of falling, notes the American site Axios.
According to NPR radio, Joe Biden now takes the shorter of the two staircases that allow him to board Air Force One, the American presidential plane, more often. “Few people realized that he mainly took the smaller staircase, but everyone will notice if he trips and falls from the top of the taller one”, says a Republican advisor on public radio. The White House, however, guarantees that the choice of the door taken depends on the weather and other logistical constraints.
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“Joe Biden has days with and days without”estimates David Smith, White House correspondent for the British daily The Guardian. “Sometimes we listen to him and say to ourselves that he is indeed starting to agecontinues the journalist. At other times, he surprises with his dynamism and liveliness, and we wonder why we talk so much about his age.”
“His team prefers to talk about its record”
The reporter notes, however, that Joe Biden grants fewer interviews and press briefings than his predecessors. According to certain observers, this highly regulated communication would serve to limit the risk of hazardous statements from the American head of state, which the Republicans could brandish as proof of senility. “Joe Biden would benefit from interacting more with the public and the media, because his most natural speeches are often the strongest”Judge David Smith.
This is precisely the strategy that the president’s team seems to have adopted since he launched his campaign for the primaries, notes NBC News. While the White House previously brushed aside attacks on his age, Joe Biden now alludes to it himself, with humor. In September, he joked in front of donors: “I have never been more confident about the future of our country in my 800 years in office.”
“He uses jokes to defuse comments about his age, and it usually works. At the same time, his team praises the energy he shows.”
David Smith, journalistat franceinfo
It is not uncommon to hear his press officers recall that Joe Biden travels a lot, including abroad and in dangerous terrain. “He went to Ukraine, while few leaders usually risk going to a country at war”, confirms David Smith. A White House official also described a flight during which “his team had fallen asleep exhausted” after a NATO summit, while the head of state “wanted to talk with them”. “If only I had the energy that President Biden has at 80”praised the senior official, quoted by NBC News.
The Democratic camp is also banking on Joe Biden’s experience to counter criticism. “When asked about his age, his team prefers to talk about his record: unemployment has fallen, inflation has slowed, there have been investments in infrastructure and the fight against climate change, NATO has been strengthened…” list John Della Volpe, director of polling at the Institute of Political Science at Harvard University. “Looking at his 2020 agenda, he accomplished a lot despite a divided Congress, continues the specialist. His campaign argument is that he hasn’t finished the job.”
“Donald Trump gives the impression of being younger”
This is not the first time that the age of a presidential candidate has questioned public opinion. “We had already seen this phenomenon with Ronald Reagan, who was also older than his competitors in 1980 and 1984”, points out John Della Volpe. The media “noted that he often took naps” And “were concerned about his intellectual abilities”particularly after the assassination attempt during which the elected Republican was injured. “This did not prevent him from being re-elected in 1984, winning in 49 of the 50 American states, against a younger Democrat”notes John Della Volpe.
Joe Biden is also not much older than the favorite of the Republican primaries, Donald Trump. The former conservative president, at the top of voting intentions and victorious in the first two internal party ballots, will be 78 years old in November. He also faces questions about his cognitive faculties, notes CNN. “Nikki Haley, for example, plays on the fact that he confused her with [l’ex-présidente démocrate de la Chambre des représentants] Nancy Pelosiexplains historian Lauric Henneton.
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However, his age is less criticized than Joe Biden. “Donald Trump gives the impression of being much younger than the president, in particular because he is always so charismatic and enduring during his meetings”, notes David Smith. The personality of the Republican also plays a role. “He is the target of 91 indictments, is at the heart of an incredible number of controversies and has accustomed Americans to incendiary outings. For his opponents, age seems the least of the problems that Donald Trump represents”analyzes the journalist of Guardian.
“Voters know that Donald Trump and Joe Biden are roughly the same age. If they are nominated by their party, what will take precedence in November are the records and programs of the two candidates, not their four years apart. “
John Della Volpe, pollsterat franceinfo
“If the Republican favorite was part of the millennial generation, the equation would be different”, deciphers John Della Volpe. But if Joe Biden and Donald Trump end up facing each other on November 5, “the issue will be their vision for the future of the United States”, assures the specialist. In a particularly polarized country, “voters want above all to know if the future head of state understands their problems and is in agreement with their values”he continues.
This is perhaps one of the factors which explains why the United States seems to be heading towards a new Biden-Trump duel, as in 2020. “There is a new generation of leaders, among Democrats and Republicans alike, but we have the impression that no party is ready to bet on them given the stakes of this election”notes David Smith. “Republicans are convinced that only Trump can crush Biden, and Democrats that the incumbent is best positioned to beat Trumpsummarizes the correspondent at the White House. In this context, Joe Biden’s age doesn’t matter.”