Joe Biden’s old age spooks Democrats

Joe Biden’s poor poll numbers are worrying his own party. Democrats are now publicly criticizing the age of the American president. Only a minority of left-wing voters want the 79-year-old to stand for re-election. But good alternatives are rare.

Joe Biden would be 82 if re-elected.

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Joe Biden isn’t just flying low in the polls right now. Recently, in front of the cameras, he unhappily overturned his bike and then briefly lay on his back on the ground like a beetle. At the end of a bike tour near his beach house, the American President got tangled up with his toes in the foot basket of the pedals while dismounting and then lost his balance.

Such a mishap can also happen to younger semesters. Nevertheless, the pictures were of course a godsend for Biden’s critics. So tweeted Donald Trump Junior: «I’m not sure there has ever been a more perfect metaphor for the current state of our country than Biden falling off his bike while he was standing still.»

“He just looks old”

The mishap of the 79-year-old president came at an extremely unfortunate time, because criticism of his advanced age is also growing louder in his own ranks. the “New York Times” recently conducted interviews with over 50 disaffected Democratic Party officials and officials across the country. For example, Shelia Huggins, a member of the National Party Committee, said: “Democrats need fresh and bold leadership for the 2024 presidential election. That can’t be Joe Biden.”

Her colleague Steve Simeonidis agreed: “To say that our country is on the right track would be a shameless misrepresentation of reality. Biden should announce his intention not to run for 2024 right after the midterm elections.”

The American President got back up quickly after falling off his bike. What it’s like to run the country asked a child in the crowd. “Oh, it’s like any other job,” Biden replied. However, the statement has little to do with the truth. “The presidency is an incredibly arduous task,” David Axelrod, Barack Obama’s former campaign strategist, told the New York Times. At the age of 47, Obama was one of the youngest presidents in American history when he took office. But he also left the White House eight years later with graying hair. Biden, on the other hand, would be 82 if re-elected and 86 at the end of his second term. “That would be a big issue,” says Axelrod.

The award-winning journalist Mark Leibovich doubled for the magazine “The Atlantic” in a pointed analysis: “Let me say it bluntly: Joe Biden should not stand for re-election in 2024. He’s too old.” In conversations with people close to the President, Leibovich realized the following: Biden is holding up very bravely, but – as a high-ranking government official put it – “he just looks old.”

An official waiver would be liberating for the president, says Leibovich. In this way, he could concentrate entirely on the role of a national reconciliator that was tailor-made for him. “Nothing does more goodwill to a politician than disregarding himself.”

Old age is just one of many problems

In fact, Biden already seems a bit marked by his exhausting office. He was never a born rhetorician. In primary school he had to stop his stuttering. But now he gets muddled in his speeches more often than two years ago. His face seems even narrower, his hair thinner and his voice more cracked. Occasionally, the pronunciation of individual words is so slurred that journalists have to wait for the transcript to be posted on the White House website to verify the exact quote from the President.

Physically, Biden keeps fit with a lot of exercise. He doesn’t drink alcohol and doesn’t smoke. However, in 1988 he suffered two aneurysms that almost ended fatally. At the moment, however, he is burdened by common old-age diseases, which he treats with blood thinners and cholesterol-lowering drugs. Arthritis in the back leads to a stiffer gait. And before that, Biden had to have an enlarged prostate surgically treated.

Overall, Biden is in good health to carry out his official duties, judges the White House doctor. However, the current state of the president is not the problem either. His age is an issue because, on the one hand, things are generally going badly for the president and his party, and on the other hand, because hardly anyone originally expected Donald Trump to return after an election defeat.

Biden’s old age was already considered in the 2019 primary as one of its weak points. But his campaign convinced voters that his vast experience makes him a necessary “intermediate figure” to defeat Trump, restore the nation to normality and… to go into well-deserved retirement after one term in office. Biden identified himself as a “bridge builder” to a generation of young political leaders.

The polarization blocks the generational change

The repeal of national abortion laws by the conservative-dominated Supreme Court last Friday could mobilize democratic voters and lead to a general shift in opinion. So far, however, everything points to a Republican victory in the congressional elections in November. If the candidates supported by Trump also do well, this would increase the momentum for the former president to run again.

The Americans are increasingly critical of Biden

Percentage of respondents who agree or disagree with the work of the President

Now, however, nothing seems normal – neither nationally nor internationally. So far, Biden has acted cautiously in the Ukraine war. But the fact that he was unable to deter Putin from the aggression is likely to be seen as a sign of weakness, as is the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The record high inflation of over eight percent is not solely the fault of the Democrats, but their stimulus programs worth billions have additionally overheated the economy. Consequently, Bidens lie approval ratings only 39.6 percent lower than that of Trump after a year and a half in office. Vice President Kamala Harris would be the “natural” successor. But she enjoys the Americans even less approval than Biden himself and is significantly less popular than other vice presidents before her.

So far, no more promising Trump conqueror than Biden has been identified in the ranks of the Democrats – despite his poor approval ratings. According to a recent survey by the opinion research institute Yougov only 25 percent of Americans and 43 percent of Democratic voters want Biden to run again in 2024. 32 percent of voters want this from Donald Trump.

However, if this duel comes about, 42 percent would currently vote for Biden and only 39 percent for Trump. However, 19 percent are undecided on this question. However, the age of the candidates should hardly play a role in this decision between two old people. Trump would be 78 years old in 2024. Political polarization appears to be blocking generational change in American politics itself.


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