Washington Post turns on Biden over age and health

JOE BIDEN should come clean about his health and voters are right to be concerned about his age, a Left-leaning US newspaper has said.

In a lengthy opinion piece, The Washington Post confronted the issue of whether the president should seek a second term next year, when he will be approaching his 82nd birthday.

“In short, Mr Biden’s age is not inevitably the decisive issue, but it is a real one, and he will have to address it, forthrightly, whether the choice in 2024 is between him and Mr Trump or another Republican,” the piece said.

“The public has a right to know details about his health, physical and mental, and about what he is doing to maintain it.”

Although Mr Biden’s doctors have declared him in good health, there is the risk of serious challenges in a second term – and potentially the invocation of the 25th amendment, which deals with presidential infirmity.

The article from the traditionally supportive paper will be a setback for Mr Biden, but reflects the views of a large swathe of voters, including Democrats.

Earlier this month, an Abc/washington Post poll revealed that 68 per cent of Americans believed Mr Biden was too old for another term. Alarmingly for the Democrats, only 44 per cent thought Mr Trump, who is four years younger than Mr Biden, was too old to return to the White House.

Even though Mr Trump remains unpopular with voters, the majority of respondents said he far surpassed Mr Biden in terms of mental acuity and physical health.

Mr Biden’s sporadic gaffes, such as confusing the Black and Tans with the All-blacks rugby team during his recent

‘There is a rational basis to concerns about his age. His frequent verbal lapses do not help assuage them’

visit to Ireland, have only served to reinforce doubts over a second term.

“There is a rational basis to concerns about Mr Biden’s age,” the newspaper argued. “His frequent verbal lapses do not help assuage them.

“There is no public evidence these moments reflect anything other than the forgetfulness and difficulty at multitasking that often occurs among generally healthy seniors. In a way, though, that’s just the point. They’re normal. Voters can expect more of the same in a second term.”