“The Presidency Is Not a Job for Someone Who’s 80 Years Old”: Majority of Americans Say Biden and Trump Are Both Too Old

William FurneyNov 5, 2023

Minute Read

President Biden and his likely 2024 contender Donald Trump should hang up their political gloves and enjoy their remaining years — because they don’t have many left, the majority of Americans believe.

Elderly Yet Popular

President Biden is the oldest person elected president in US history, and will be 81 later this month. Former president Trump, who failed to be re-elected in the 2020 vote, is 77. Both men are their respective Democratic and Republican parties’ leading choices for their nominations for the 2024 race, with wide leads over rivals in national polling.

Strong Contenders

Despite the men’s advanced ages, they have soaring leads over others vying for the parties’ nominations. Trump has an approximate 50-point advantage over challengers in the Republican race, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and Biden is polling at about 70 percent, far ahead of a much smaller Democratic field.

Determined to Run

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And at ages when most people would long since have retired, or be in retirement homes, Trump and Biden have vowed to march on and battle it out in what will be an exhausting contest for one of the toughest jobs in the world.

Negative Views of Age

A poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research in August found that the majority of Americans — 77 percent — held the view that President Biden was too old to be an effective leader should he win a second term. The figure included 69 percent of Democrats. Most respondents (51 percent) believed that Trump’s age was also too advanced for him to lead the country, should he return to the White House.

Similar Views

Other polls, including a recent Washington Post-ABC News survey, made similar findings — that Biden and Trump are just too old and younger people with more energy would do a far better job of running the country.

Blunders, Fumbles and Stumbles

Voters and those who take part in polls will likely have images of the two leading contenders’ recent flubs in mind, especially by Biden. Not only has he been seen stumbling across stages and tripping on the steps of Air Force One, suggesting frailty, but he has also given a series of rambling and what observers say were incoherent speeches.

Trump Younger Portrayal

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Although Trump is only a few years younger than Biden, he likes to portray himself as more youthful and more robust, say political observers who point to photo ops of the former president hanging out with students and playing ball.

Trump Gaffes

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But at a recent campaign rally in Iowa, Trump forgot the name of the city he was in, until a local official reminded him, and he has referred to the prime minister of Hungary as the Turkish leader. He has called the Palestinian terror organization Hamas “hummus” — the Middle Eastern dip made from garbanzo beans.

‘No Job for an Octogenarian’

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Seizing the opportunity over rising concern over Biden and Trump’s years, Governor DeSantis has launched attacks on his Republican rival as well as Biden.

“The presidency is not a job for someone [who’s] 80 years old,” he said on CBS Evening News.

Age Limit Call

Calling for an age limit in the US Constitution for those running for the presidency — it has a minimum age of 35 for candidates — said Biden and Trump’s ages were “absolutely a legitimate concern” for voters.

“If Biden’s the Democratic nominee, I’m the Republican nominee, I think there’s gonna be a lot of Americans that are gonna wanna see a generational passing of the torch,” he said.

Some Voters Not Bothered

Still, many Trump supporters have no qualms about the former president’s age, as reflected in his high poll ratings. An average of national polling puts Trump at 59.3 percent while DeSantis, whose campaign has faltered over a number of issues, is lingering far behind at 12.9 percent. It suggests the Florida governor will have to do more to resuscitate his campaign than constantly going after Trump’s age.

Not Fazed by Age

Similarly, some registered Democratic voters don’t appear fazed by President Biden’s age either. Average national polling currently has Biden at 68.5 percent of voter primary preferences compared to a paltry 5.6 percent for the only contender, author Marianne Williamson, 71. That’s after Robert F. Kennedy Jr, 69, abandoned the Democratic party of his famous family and launched a presidential bid as an independent.