“The Next American President Will Expire Before His Term Does”: It’s Time to Face the Fact That Biden and Trump Are Far Too Old

Amy LewisNov 21, 2023

Minute Read

Alexander Burns, head of news at Politico, has warned that both Trump and Biden could die in office if either wins the 2024 election.

Snark and Brittleness

In his piece, Burns described Dianne Feinstein’s death as a “warning for Biden and Trump.” He also criticized the “snark and brittleness’ ” that reporters often receive when asking questions about the health of politicians.

Biden and Trump

President Biden, who is 80 years old, often seems confused and slips up while he’s speaking. As such, he’s faced a fair few questions about his health and cognitive abilities over the past few months. Similarly, Donald Trump is 77 and is very rarely able to string together a coherent sentence. Moreover, he recently appeared to forget that World War II already happened.

A Startling Warning

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Burns wrote: “Feinstein’s death should be more than startling. It should be a warning to the people in both parties who believe they can bend their own mortality to an electoral calendar or a personal timeline for legacy-building.”

Immune to Death

Burns said that the trend of politicians remaining in office while elderly needs to end. “’There is a phenomenon in politics whereby if someone is old and infirm but remains alive for a while in a diminished state, they can almost persuade people that they are immune to death,” he wrote.

Not a Surprise

The political pundit went on to say that, given that it’s looking like 2024 will be Biden vs. Trump, it’s “likelier now than at any other point in recent memory that the next American president will expire before his term does.” He also criticized the political community for acting shocked when Feinstein died. “There is nothing truly surprising about life coming to an end for someone in her frail condition, except maybe that it did not happen sooner,” he wrote.

Senator Mitch McConnell

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Burns went on to discuss 81-year-old Senator Mitch McConnell, who has made a recent habit of “going black” during public speeches. Like Biden, Trump, and other elderly politicians, McConnell generally refuses to answer questions about his health. “All these men seem to resent being reminded of their own mortality,” Burns wrote.

Concerning Warning Signs

People rarely discuss the apparent cognitive decline of both Trump and Biden. Most of the time, they attack one of them depending on their political affiliation. The reality of the matter is, though, that they’ve both displayed concerning warning signs in recent months.

World War II

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Aside from the fact that Donald Trump seems to be entirely unable to speak coherently, he recently forgot that World War II has already occurred. Discussing Biden, he said: “We have a man who is totally corrupt and the worst president in the history of our country, who is cognitively impaired, in no condition to lead, and is now in charge of dealing with Russia and possible nuclear war. Just think of it. We would be in World War II very quickly if we were going to be relying on this man.”

Biden’s Bizarre Moments

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President Biden’s had his fair share of bizarre moments in recent months, too. His staff had to cut off his microphone during a press conference, presumably due to his rambling. Moreover, he had to quickly exit the stage after a Medal of Honor ceremony, igniting a fair amount of backlash.

The Public Opinion

The debate regarding elderly politicians has, of course, infiltrated comment sections across the internet. Discussing the way Trump’s supporters often claim Biden is too old for the presidency while making no comment about the former president’s age, one individual wrote: “Hypocrisy is a feature of fascism, not a bug. The hypocrisy is the point. You make special rules that only apply to people on your side so you can create as much division as possible.”

The Oldest President

Speaking in the same discussion as the aforementioned commenter, another person said: “[Trump’s fans] ignore the fact that Reagan was the oldest president we had at election until Trump won when he became the oldest ever at election until Biden won. If Trump were to win again in 2024, he’d be the oldest president ever elected – again. He’ll be 78+5 months. Biden was 78+61 days when he won in 2020.”

Both Too Old

Another individual wrote: “They’re both too old, and I’m convinced Trump is just a straight-up madman. Biden is too old, but I think he has surrounded himself with reasonable people, for the most part. It’s irrelevant to me. I’m voting for whoever is running against Trump. As before, my vote will be a vote against Trump, not a vote for Biden.”

A Different Perspective

Offering a different perspective, another person said: “If anything, Biden is proof that age doesn’t matter, not the opposite. I’m not sure that any president in the last 100 years has accomplished so much in his first three years – maybe all the way back to Lincoln.”

Criminal Defendant Donald Trump

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Others discussed Trump’s alleged criminal activity. “Biden is too old to be president. Trump is too old and too much of a criminal and insurrectionist to be president. Neither is qualified. Trump is far more unqualified,” one commenter wrote.

A Certain Frailty

One person tried to explain why they were more concerned about Biden’s age than Trump’s. They wrote: “Mick Jagger is 80 and runs around a stage for hours belting his lungs out. It’s not really the age. Biden’s got a frailty about him. Sometimes, he has trouble completing sentences, a vacancy in his expression, a shuffle in the walk.”

Not a Great Sign

The commenter continued: “I may get blasted for saying so, but polls show a large majority of Democrats don’t think Biden is fit to complete another term. These are people who have every incentive to want Biden to stay in office. Not a great sign.”

Always a Madman

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Echoing the aforementioned individual, another person said: “Trump is out of his mind, but he hasn’t noticeably changed physically [and] mentally in recent years. He still talks frantically like a lunatic, he’s still obese, his hair and face are still bizarre, everything that is ‘off’ about him is already baked in.”

Biden’s Noticeable Changes

The commenter continued: “Biden, on the other hand, has noticeably changed as he’s gotten more elderly. He moves more slowly, he’s thinner, he speaks in a softer tone, and he stumbles over his phrasing more often. It’s all normal ‘elderly stuff’ that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s unfit or anything like that, but the changes, compared to the Biden that people saw as VP, are what people worry about and latch onto.”