JOE FACES ‘AGE OLD’ QUESTION

Fitness fear as he eyes re-elex

Questions have continued to swirl over President Biden’s age and mental fitness amid signs that he will run for a second term, with some staffers concerned about his verbal stumbles and the noticeable hitch in his step, a report said Sunday.

While aides say Biden’s energy is remarkable for a 79year-old man, they worry that he’ll “trip on a wire” because of the way he shuffles as he walks and fear he won’t make it to the end of his remarks without a gaffe, The New York Times reported.

Biden, who will turn 80 in November, is already a year older than Ronald Reagan, the nation’s second-oldest sitting president ever, was at the end of his second administration. Biden would be 86 at the end of his second term if he wins reelection.

“I do feel it’s inappropriate to seek that office after you’re 80 or in your 80s,” said David Gergen, a presidential adviser dating to the Nixon era. “I have just turned 80, and I have found over the last two or three years I think it would have been unwise for me to try to run any organization. You’re not quite as sharp as you once were.”

Biden has said his mental and physical fitness are fair game, but some wonder if he can keep up the pace for another six years.

Healthy – for now

Still, current and former senior officials and advisers described Biden as intellectually engaged, saying he grills staff on specific points in memos and rewrites speeches up until moments before he delivers them.

Some experts see Biden, who exercises five days a week and routinely bikes — but took a spill during a ride last month — as unusually fit for his age.

“Right now, there’s no evidence that the age of Biden should matter one ounce,” S. Jay Olshansky, a longevity specialist at the University of Illinois Chicago, told the Times.

But Olshansky conceded that may not be the case as Biden reaches his mid-80s.

“You can’t sugarcoat aging,” he said. “Things go wrong as we get older, and the risks rise the older we get.”

White House aides, meanwhile, pushed back Biden’s upcoming four-day tour of the Middle East to Tuesday over concerns that their initial plan to tack the trip onto the end of his visit to the G-7 summit could prove too taxing, according to the Times.

Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the president’s physician, deemed Biden fit for office after a checkup last fall, but indicated he had a cough caused by gastroesophageal reflux and a stiffer gait due to his age.

But Biden, who overcame a childhood stutter, sometimes loses his train of thought in public. He has referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as “President Harris” several times and stumbles over words.