We’re embarking on the first ageist presidential campaign
Former Vice President
Joe Biden has dementia; President Donald Trump is sick. Or at least, so go recent attacks from each side against the other.
In the age of -isms, ageism may be the final frontier. Is it even polite to wonder whether an older person can run the country?
Biden, who will turn 78 in November, would, if elected, be the oldest president in history, edging out the previous record holder, Trump, who was 70 years and 220 days old on his Inauguration Day. It’s hard to imagine a president in his 80s, but age alone shouldn’t be considered an impediment to peak performance. Plenty of people are enviably productive and mentally sharp well into their 80s and even their 90s.
But it isn’t only the voters who seem concerned about the candidates’ ages. We’re living in a postparody world when supporters of two technically “elderly” candidates hurl age-related insults at one another while they both occupy the same vintage boat. Trump calls Biden “Sleepy Joe,” and allies of the Biden campaign were quick to highlight Trump’s cautious descent down a ramp following his commencement address last weekend at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
In fairness to Trump, anyone over a certain age is cautious going down a ramp or a set of stairs. Falls are the leading cause of fatal injury for people over 65, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This reality is nothing to sneeze at -- or make fun of. In his own defense, Trump tweeted that his slow gait was because the ramp had no handrails and was slippery. Naturally, some in the media contested this explanation, noting that the weather was fine and video didn’t reveal a slippery surface. Besides, the uniformed officer walking along with Trump seemed to manage just fine.
It’s little wonder that Trump also tweeted he didn’t want to give the “Fake News” media the pleasure of a fall, knowing how any slip would play endlessly until November. While one can sympathize with Trump’s defensiveness, one further notes that the president’s empathy for others stops at the bridge of his own nose.
A flurry of Trump campaign ads recently released on Facebook targeted Biden’s age and fitness, saying that “geriatric mental health is no laughing matter.” Nor is the possible loss of votes from seniors who may as a result also feel personally attacked. On the other hand, most of the people I hear saying that Biden is too old to be president are people his own age.
There may well be some basis to concerns about the pressures of the office on a president’s long-term health. The job clearly ages those who hold the post. But Biden has been around the block more than a few times and knows the ropes of governance as well as anyone. His learning curve would be almost nil, while his attention span may be a matter of an extra cup of coffee and a short nap.
His occasional attraction to word salads, meanwhile, is no worse than Trump’s. Both men have a tendency to wander off into brain-freeze territory, which is embarrassing but hardly fatal. Biden recently tried to criticize Trump’s initial plan to hold a Tulsa rally on “Juneteenth,” or June 19, the anniversary of the 1865 liberation of the last slaves in Texas. Tulsa, of course, was the site of the 1921 white-racist massacre of African Americans.
In remarks, Biden seemed to think that Trump was going on June 19 to Texas, where Biden said the massacre occurred. Trump was, in fact, in Texas on the day of Biden’s critique; the massacre was in Oklahoma.
Age isn’t irrelevant, obviously. Older people definitely experience changes in energy, biorhythms and mental acuity, though the latter may be more a matter of fatigue than dementia. It is hardly fair to presume brain deterioration when someone in his 70s (or younger) shows signs of weariness. Likewise, a cautious gait may be only that.
No matter which of these septuagenarians wins, being president is surely easier than running for the office. Besides, research by the Oddfellows, a non-profit “friendship” group, found that 70 may be the new 40. This finding was based on relative happiness, which they attributed to -- guess what? Being retired.